The Comparative Immunomodulatory Effects of β-Glucans from Yeast, Bacteria, and Mushroom on the Function of Macrophages

Abstract

The comparative immunomodulatory effects of β-glucans isolated from mushroom fungi (Coriolus versicol), yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and bacteria (Agrobacterium) on the major functions of macrophages were evaluated. As parameters of macrophage functions, we examined tumoricidal activity, phagocytosis, nitric oxide (NO) production, and the induction of inducible NO synthetase (iNOS) in RAW264.7 cells, following treatments with β-glucans from the three different sources. The results indicated that all β-glucan treatments significantly induced tumoricidal activity in the RAW264.7 cells, with a remarkable effect shown by the beta-glucan from Agrobacterium at a concentration of 10 µg/mL. There was also a significant increase in iNOS-NO system activity in macrophages treated with β-glucans extracted from yeast; however, iNOS-NO system activity was not markedly changed by the treatment of β-glucans from C. versicolor mushroom fungi or Agrobacterium. Furthermore, the βglucans from C. versicolor had a significant phagocytotic effect at concentrations of 1, 10, and 100 µg/mL. Taken together, the present data suggest that these β-glucans, isolated from three different sources, have different effects on macrophage function, and therefore, may have different clinical uses in different for various types of diseases.

Effect on Polysaccharide Krestin from Coriolus versicolor Extract on Phagocytic Activity and Capacity of Mus musculus Exposed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

“…This indicates that giving PSK before and after exposure to P. aeruginosa affects on phagocytic activity which will eliminate the bacteria. This is supported by Jang et al (2009) that PSK has potential as a stimulator that can activate immunocompetent cells to increase the immune system.…”

Effects of Beta-glucan from Coriolus versicolor on Scavenger Receptor B1 Expression and their Involvement of Dectin-1 and Casein Kinase 2

“…We suggested in the previous study that CVG showed stronger phagocytic activity than the ones from microorganism and seaweeds (Jang et al, 2009) and explained that its phagocytosis was promoted through Dectin-1 signaling.…”

“…Our previous studies showed comparable significant effects on phagocytosis and NO production in RAW264.7 macrophages by β-glucans from yeast, bacteria, and mushrooms, including C. versicolor, in vitro. Among them, β-glucans from C. versicolor (CVG) showed a highly significant effect on phagocytosis (Jang et al, 2009;Jang et al, 2010). Thus, we further studied the involvement of scavenger receptor class B1 (SR-B1) expression and its signaling in CVG-stimulated phagocytosis.…”

Effects of β-glucans from Coriolus versicolor on macrophage phagocytosis are related to the Akt and CK2/Ikaros

“…Among these, ␤-glucan from mushrooms, C. versicolor (CVG), showed a highly significant effect on phagocytosis [15]. In present study, we focused on the intracellular molecular mechanisms of CVG and proposed a novel cellular signaling pathway in phagocytic effects.…”