We studied the activities of several kinds of beta-glucans, including sonifilan, grifolan, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum glucan, laminarin and zymosan, on macrophages. Preculture of macrophages with inactive beta-glucans rendered the cells unresponsive to subsequent stimulation with grifolan, suggesting a specific pathway in the beta-glucan structure. The importance of protein C and phosphorylation ...

BACKGROUND Exposure to mold has been associated with exacerbation of asthma symptoms in children. OBJECTIVE To report how the presence of visible mold and exposure to (1-3)-beta-D-glucan in infancy affects the risk of asthma at the age of 3 years as defined by an Asthma Predictive Index (API). METHODS Visible mold was evaluated by means of home inspection. (1-3)-beta-D-glucan levels were me...

Extruded breakfast cereals (EBC), processed from two oat lines, N979-5-2-4 (N979) and "Jim", with beta-glucan concentrations of 8.7 and 4.9%, respectively, were used to determine the impact of dry solids (DS) and bile acid (BA) concentrations on in vitro BA binding efficiency. A full fractional factorial design with levels for BA concentrations of 0.20, 0.47, 0.95, 2.37, and 4.73 micromol/g of ...

CR3 (Mac-1; alphaMbeta2 integrin) functions as both a receptor for the opsonic iC3b fragment of C3 triggering phagocytosis or cytotoxicity and an adhesion molecule mediating leukocyte diapedesis. Recent reports have suggested that a CR3 lectin site may be required for both cytotoxic responses and adhesion. Cytotoxic responses require dual recognition of iC3b via the I domain of CD11b and specif...

BACKGROUND In patients with chronic respiratory disease, Pneumocystis jirovecii (P. jirovecii) colonization is observed, and may influence disease progression and systemic inflammation. Pneumocystis pneumonia causes interstitial changes, so making a diagnosis of PCP in patients who have interstitial pneumonia (IP) with P. jirovecii colonization is sometimes difficult based on radiography. MET...

OBJECTIVE Consumption of a meal high in resistant starch or soluble fiber (beta-glucan) decreases peak insulin and glucose concentrations and areas under the curve (AUCs). The objective was to determine whether the effects of soluble fiber and resistant starch on glycemic variables are additive. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Ten normal-weight (43.5 years of age, BMI 22.0 kg/m2) and 10 overweigh...

The budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has long proved to be a very useful model in cell biology. Its cell morphology is established and maintained at least in part by the cell wall, a rigid but dynamic structure that affords mechanical protection. Although fungal cell walls represent an unique phenomenon, recent progress in research has shown striking parallels between yeast and mammalian ...

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae RHO1 gene encodes a low-molecular-weight GTPase. One of its recently identified functions is the regulation of beta-1,3-glucan synthase, which synthesizes the main component of the fungal cell wall (J. Drgonova et al., Science 272:277-279, 1996; T. Mazur and W. Baginsky, J. Biol. Chem. 271:14604-14609, 1996; and H. Qadota et al., Science 272:279-281, 1996). From the...

The aim of this study was to assess the cytokine response after nasal exposure to organic dusts. In a double blinded, crossover study five garbage workers with occupational airway symptoms and five healthy garbage workers were intranasally exposed to endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide LPS), beta-1,3-D-glucan (GLU), Aspergillus sp., compost or the saline dilute for 15 min. Nasal cavity volume and nas...

This study investigated whether the consumption of a diet in which high-beta-glucan barley replaced rice would reduce the visceral fat area as well as the serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and total cholesterol (TC) in hypercholesterolemic Japanese men. A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled intervention study was conducted in 44 hypercholesterolemic Japanese men with ...