epiglucan and Colonic-Neoplasms

The β-glucans are the glucose polymers present in the cells walls of yeast, fungi and cereals. β-Glucans are the major compositions of various nutritional diets such as oats, barley, seaweeds and mushrooms. Various biological activities of β-glucans have been reported such as anticancer, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory and immune-modulating effects. The importance of β-glucans in food processing industries such as bread preparation, yogurt and pasta have been well elucidated. In recent findings on food science research gut microbiota plays a significant role and vastly studied for its intermediate role in regulating health. Several reports have suggested that β-glucans should have a significant impact on the gut microbiota changes and in turn on human health. The review was aimed to accumulate the evidence on types of β-glucans, their functional properties and the mechanism by how the β-glucans regulate the gut microbiota and human health. The various in vitro, in vivo and clinical studies, have been summarized, in particular, the changes happening upon the β-glucans supplementation on the gut microbiota. Overall, this review updates the recent studies on β-glucans and gut microbiota and also inputs the demanding questions to be addressed in β-glucans-microbiota research in the future.

Topics: Animals; Anticarcinogenic Agents; beta-Glucans; Cardiotonic Agents; Colonic Neoplasms; Dietary Fiber; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Humans; Immunologic Factors

Mushrooms have been consumed for their health benefits for thousands of years in China, and the main active component was recently identified as beta-glucan. The immune-stimulating effect of beta-glucans has been well studied, and several beta-glucan receptors have been identified on the surface of immune cells. In addition, mushroom extracts with high levels of beta-glucans have also been shown to have direct cytotoxic effects on cancer cells, and beta-glucans are used for the treatment of cancer. This review summarizes the use of beta-glucans in colon cancer. Evidence has supported the idea that beta-glucans can decrease the size of xenografted colon cancer tumors via the stimulation of the immune system and direct cytotoxicity. Beta-glucans can also have synergistic effects with chemotherapeutic agents and other immune stimulators, and an innovative strategy is to use beta-glucans to deliver nanoparticles containing chemotherapeutic agents to the site of the colon cancer and, thus, improve the therapeutic efficacy.

Topics: Agaricales; Animals; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; beta-Glucans; Colonic Neoplasms; Humans; Treatment Outcome

Topics: Animals; beta-Glucans; Colitis; Colitis-Associated Neoplasms; Colonic Neoplasms; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Mice; Shiitake Mushrooms

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) with an M2-like phenotype have been linked to immunosuppression and resistance to chemotherapies of cancer, thus targeting TAMs has been an attractive therapeutic strategy to cancer immunotherapy. We have reported that the β-D-(1→6) glucan (AAMP-A70) isolated from Amillariella Mellea could promote macrophage activation. The present study showed that the β-1,6-glucan could promote the transformation of M2-like macrophages to M1-like phenotype and inhibit the viability of colon cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. On a cellular mechanistic level, the β-1,6-glucan reset tumor-promoting M2-like macrophages to tumor-inhibiting M1-like phenotype via increasing the phosphorylation of Akt/NF-κB and MAPK. Further, TLR2 was identified as the receptor of β-1,6-glucan in the transformation effect. In addition, a very similar β-1,6-glucan with side chains of β-Glc or α-Galρ which was purified from Lentinus edodes showed same activities with those from Amillariella Mellea. Our findings shed light on the action mode of β-1,6-glucan in cancer immunotherapy.

Topics: Agaricales; Animals; Apoptosis; beta-Glucans; Cell Proliferation; Colonic Neoplasms; Female; Humans; Macrophage Activation; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mice, Nude; Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; NF-kappa B; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; Tumor Cells, Cultured; Tumor-Associated Macrophages; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

In the present study, the effects of β-glucans isolated from Euglena on the formation of preneoplastic aberrant crypt foci (ACF) in the colon were examined in mice. Mice were fed a semi-purified AIN-93M diet containing cellulose or the same diet but with the cellulose replaced with β-glucans in the form of Euglena, paramylon, or amorphous paramylon, for 11 weeks. After consuming these dietary supplements for 8 days, half of the mice were intraperitoneally administered 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH) at a dose of 20 mg kg(-1) body weight every week for 6 weeks. Among the DMH-treated groups, the paramylon- and amorphous paramylon-fed mice displayed a significantly lower number of ACF than the control group. Also, the liver weight of the paramylon group was markedly decreased compared with those of the control and Euglena groups, whereas the cecal content weight and fecal volume of the paramylon group were significantly increased. As for the levels of organic acids in the cecal contents, the paramylon group displayed significantly increased lactic acid levels compared with the control and Euglena groups. From these findings, although the mechanism of the ACF-inhibiting effects of paramylon remains unclear, it is considered that β-glucans, such as paramylon and its isomer amorphous paramylon, have preventive effects against colon cancer and are more effective against the condition than Euglena.

Topics: Aberrant Crypt Foci; Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; beta-Glucans; Chlorophyta; Colonic Neoplasms; Euglena gracilis; Glucans; Humans; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred ICR

Polysaccharide beta-glucans were extracted from the medicinal mushroom Phellinus linteus (Hymenochaetaceae, Aphyllophoromycetideae) and subjected to sulfation. Chemical modification of the beta-glucan was confirmed by structural analysis, and its biological properties were compared with those of native beta-glucan. The results of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and elemental analysis indicated that successive preparation of the sulfated derivative yielded a degree of substitution of 0.47. Nitric oxide production measured by the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) experiments increased 1.5-fold after sulfation. In addition, the introduction of sulfate groups into the beta-glucan chains improved in vitro growth inhibitory activity against SNU-C2A cells. Therefore, sulfated beta-glucan extracted from Ph. linteus may be beneficial for immune support due to its incorporation of functional groups into its polymer structure.

Topics: Agaricales; Antineoplastic Agents; beta-Glucans; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Proliferation; Colonic Neoplasms; Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; Humans; Nitric Oxide; Phellinus; Plant Extracts; Polysaccharides; Sulfates

Immunotherapy of cancer by vaccination is hampered by tumour-mediated immune suppression, to which pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1 (IL-1) and IL-6 contribute. In mouse models, IL-1-receptor antagonist (IL-1 Ra) diminished inflammation and tumour growth when administered during or shortly after tumour inoculation.. The capacity of IL-1 Ra anakinra to reduce IL-1-induced production of IL-6 in order to improve the efficacy of a subsequent booster vaccination with survivin-derived peptides and soluble β-glucan as adjuvant was tested in colon-26 adenocarcinoma-bearing Balb/c-mice.. Bolus administration of anakinra into non-immunized mice with macroscopic tumour significantly lowered serum levels of IL-6 without inhibiting tumour growth. When administered to pre-immunized mice bearing a palpable tumour, IL-1 Ra enhanced growth inhibition of a subsequent booster vaccination, although serum-IL-6 was not reduced and the number of IFN-γ-producing splenic CD8(+) T-cells was not increased.. Anakinra contributes to growth-inhibition of small tumours, presumably by blocking IL-1 as tumour growth-promoting factor rather than by facilitating an enhanced CTL response.

Topics: Adjuvants, Immunologic; Animals; Cancer Vaccines; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes; Cell Line, Tumor; Colonic Neoplasms; Drug Synergism; Female; Glucans; Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins; Interleukin 1 Receptor Antagonist Protein; Interleukin-6; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Microtubule-Associated Proteins; Peptide Fragments; Receptors, Interleukin-1; Survivin; Vaccines, Subunit

The effect of pleuran (beta-1,3-D-glucan isolated from the oyster mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus) on the antioxidant status of the organism and on the development of precancerous aberrant crypt foci (ACF) lesions in the colon is studied in the male Wistar rat. A diet containing either 10% pleuran or 10% cellulose was compared with a cellulose-free diet and both were found to significantly reduced conjugated diene content in erythrocytes and in liver. Particularly significant was the reduction of conjugated dienes in the colon following pleuran administration. Diets containing cellulose and pleuran reduced glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) activity and increased catalase activity in erythrocytes. Pleuran increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) and GSH-PX activity (compared with the cellulose diet), and glutathione reductase activity (compared with the cellulose-free diet) in liver; and both diets reduced glutathione levels significantly in the colon. ACF lesions developed in the colon of all animals fed a cellulose-free diet; however, the incidence was reduced to 64% and 60% following the cellulose and pleuran diets, respectively. The highest average count of the most frequent small ACF lesions--and highest total count--was seen in animals fed a cellulose-free diet. Although ACF lesions were reduced by the cellulose diet, the more significant reduction statistically (>50%) was achieved with the pleuran diet.

Topics: 1,2-Dimethylhydrazine; Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Antioxidants; beta-Glucans; Colonic Neoplasms; Glucans; Male; Precancerous Conditions; Rats; Rats, Wistar

The purpose of this study was to investigate the combined antitumor effect of aminated beta-1,3-D-glucan (AG) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) in an experimental liver metastasis model. Liver metastases were established by inoculation of C-26 colon carcinoma cells into the superior mesenteric vein of syngeneic mice. Treatment of mice started 24 hours after inoculation of tumor cells by daily intravenous injections of either AG, IFN-gamma, or a combination of both for a duration of 6 days. The resultant liver metastases were then quantified after an additional period of 11 days. Combination of IFN-gamma and AG inhibited the growth of liver metastases almost entirely. IFN-gamma was also very efficient, while AG alone did not exert any significant antitumor effect. These results, along with histological studies from mice receiving AG and IFN-gamma, indicated that activation and recruitment of liver macrophages may be a part of the mechanism responsible for the inhibition of metastatic growth observed in this study.

Topics: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; beta-Glucans; Carcinoma; Colonic Neoplasms; Drug Synergism; Female; Glucans; Interferon-gamma; Liver Neoplasms; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Neoplasm Metastasis; Recombinant Proteins

Nutrients not absorbed in the small bowel will form substrates for microbial growth in the colon which may have implication for the development of colon cancer. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether fibre-rich oat and barley diets increase the excretion of energy-supplying nutrients from the small bowel compared with a low-fibre wheat diet, and whether a possible increase could be related to the beta-glucan content. Nine ileostomy subjects were served four types of bread together with a low-fibre basal diet (12 g dietary fibre/d). The breads were based on either wheat flour (W diet, 7 g dietary fibre/d), oat bran (OB diet, 29 g dietary fibre/d), the same amount of oat bran with addition of beta-glucanase (EC 3.2.1.4) (OBE diet, 19 g dietary fibre/d) or a fibre-rich barley fraction (B diet, 35 g dietary fibre/d). An increased ileal excretion of starch was observed with the barley diet but no effect of the oat beta-glucan on starch recovery was found. The NSP + Klason lignin in the ileostomy effluents accounted only for 24, 31, 24 and 35% of the gross energy excretion in the W, OB, OBE and B diet periods respectively. A large part of the dry weight and energy (30, 21, 28 and 27%, in the W, OB, OBE and B diets respectively) in the effluents could not be identified as fat, protein, total starch or NSP + Klason lignin. This unidentified part was probably made up of oligosaccharides, endogenous losses and nutrient complexes. Methods for identifying and analysing these components should be developed and their role as substrates for colonic fermentation and colon cancer development ought to be investigated.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Antineoplastic Agents; Avena; beta-Glucans; Colon; Colonic Neoplasms; Dietary Fiber; Female; Glucans; Hordeum; Humans; Ileostomy; Male; Middle Aged; Starch; Triticum