Immunopharmacological Activity of the Purified Insoluble Glucan, Zymocel, in Mice

Abstract

Although it has been established that soluble glucan in fungi is important to host defence against infection, the importance of insoluble glucans is not clear. We have examined the in-vivo immunopharmacological activity of the insoluble glucan, zymocel. Administration of zymocel increased peritoneal exudate cell number and spleen weight, and enhanced: phagocytic activity, hydrogen peroxide production, and nitric oxide production of peritoneal exudate cells; the extravascular release of Evans blue (which might reflect vascular permeability); lipopolysaccharide-triggered synthesis of tumour necrosis factor (TNF); and recovery of white blood cell number in cyclophosphamide-induced leukopenia. Zymocel also showed anti-tumour activity against sarcoma 180 in mice and also enhanced TNF synthesis and hydrogen peroxide production by macrophage-like cell line in-vitro, i.e. resulted in direct macrophage activation. These results show that zymocel shows varied immunopharmacological activity; it is suggested that the administration of insoluble glucan induces the inflammatory response, the subsequent activation of the immune systems via the cytokine network, and direct macrophage activation.

Aminated β‐1,3‐d‐glucan improves wound healing in diabetic db/db mice

“…15,18 There is evidence of nitric oxide (NO) deficiency at the wound site in diabetic rats, and wounds heal more readily with NO supplementation, which indicates a crucial role for NO in wound repair. 35 Administration of b-glucans increases the NO production of cells in the peritoneal exudate, 17 and macrophages secrete NO, 11 a mechanism that also could have contributed to the wound healing effect in our model. Also glucan has been shown to scavenge free radicals, which could have improved wound healing.…”

“…11 b-Glucans stimulate cells from the monocyte-macrophage system in animals and humans. [12][13][14][15][16] They also exert antitumor activity in vitro and in vivo, 13,17,18 and protect against life-threatening infections, 12,16,19 qualities possibly caused by induction of cytokine expression from the monocyte-macrophage system. 14,18,20 The present study was undertaken to see if topical applications of the macrophage-stimulant, aminated b-1,3-Dglucan (AG), could improve wound healing in an animal model with diabetes mellitus (db/db mice).…”

Hepatoprotective Effects of Purple Potato Extract againstD-Galactosamine-Induced Liver Injury in Rats

“…The tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-) level was measured with enzyme-linked immunosolvent assay (ELISA) according to the report of Suzuki et al 18) In the assay, monoclonal rat antimouse TNF-primary antibody (BD Biosciences, San Jose, CA) and polyclonal rabbit antirat TNF-antibody (Pierce Biotechnology, Rockford, IL) were used to detect rat TNFforms. Recombinant mouse TNF-(R&D Systems, Minneapolis, MN) was used as the standard.…”

Molecular Mechanism of Tumor Necrosis Factor-α Production in 1→3-β-Glucan (Zymosan)-activated Macrophages

“…When target genes are turned on by NF-B, mRNA synthesis occurs, and protein expression will follow. Although it has been reported that 133-␤-glucan is able to activate NF-B (23) and induce TNF-␣ production (24,25), details of the relationship between NF-B and TNF-␣ transcription in response to 133-␤-glucan remain to be investigated. This study was designed to explore the details of the mechanisms regulating TNF-␣ expression induced by zymosan A at both the cellular and molecular levels.…”