Phagocytes engulf pathogenic microbes, kill them and degrade their cellular macromolecules by hydrolytic enzymes in phagolysosomes. However, such enzymes are unable to degrade some microbial polysaccharides, and fate of such indigestible polysaccharides in phagocytes remains uncertain. Using the extracellular domain of Dectin-1 as β-glucan-specific probes, we succeeded in detection of soluble a...

To determine whether the infection-preventing capability of the neutrophil-activating agent poly-(1-6)-b-Dglucopyranosyl-(1-3)-b-D-glucopyranose glucan (PGG-glucan) can be enhanced with antibiotic prophylaxis, we administered PGG-glucan and cefazolin, alone and in combination, to guinea pigs inoculated with isolates of staphylococci. Guinea pigs receiving both PGG-glucan and cefazolin had 50% i...

We prepared self-standing chemically cross-linked hydrogels from 1,3-?-d-glucan (Mw = 2.0 × 105) and 1,3-?-d-glucans (low-molecular-weight (LMW): Mw 105, high-molecular-weight (HMW): 1.0 106), using ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (EGDGE) as a cross-linker. Uniaxial compressive tests cylindrical of the glucans were conducted. Both LMW-1,3-?-d-glucan highly deformable shape-deformable; they cou...

The functional consequences of treating human monocytes with purified and chemically characterized Candida albicans beta-glucan -- a major microbial pathogen associated molecular pattern -- on their differentiation into dendritic cells (DC) were investigated. We show here that beta-glucan-treated monocytes differentiated into mature DC (Glu-MoDC) with altered phenotype and functional behavior, ...

β-Glucan is a dietary fibre, found in many natural sources, and controls chronic metabolic diseases effectively. However, β-glucan from the yeast has rarely been investigated. Objectively, conditions were optimized to isolate β-glucan from the yeast (max. 66% yield); those optimized conditions included 1.0 M NaOH, pH 7.0, and 90°C. The purity and identity of the isolated β-glucan were character...

This study explored a novel strategy to restore the vocal gap by using cross-linked β-glucan hydrogel by γ-irradiation. An aqueous solution of 5 wt% β-glucan was prepared and cross-linked using (60)Co γ irradiation. Ten nude mice were injected with 0.8 mL of irradiated β-glucan on the left back and the same volume of nonirradiated β-glucan on the right back for comparison. The mice were sacrifi...

The functional consequences of treating human monocytes with purified and chemically characterized Candida albicans -glucan—a major microbial pathogen associated molecular pattern—on their differentiation into dendritic cells (DC) were investigated. We show here that -glucan-treated monocytes differentiated into mature DC (Glu-MoDC) with altered phenotype and functional behavior, similarly to D...

Respirable cotton dust, implicated in the pathogenesis of byssinosis, contains a number of bioactive compounds. These include lipopolysaccharide (LPS), tannins, bacterial peptides, byssinosin, iacinilene C, and 1,3-beta-D-glucan. The exact aetiological agent of byssinosis in such dust has not been definitively identified nor has its mechanism of action on lower lung surfaces been determined. In...

Glucans are present in fungi, plants, algae, and bacteria. β-Glucan, one of the major cell wall components of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, has been found to enhance immune functions. Glucans are glucose polymers with an α- or β-type glycosidic chain. The role of (1→3)-β-D-glucan is in the maintenance of yeast cell wall shape and rigidity. Studies reveal that soluble glucans can lower total cholest...

Deletion of GAS1/GGP1/CWH52 results in a lower beta-glucan content of the cell wall and swollen, more spherical cells (L. Popolo, M. Vai, E. Gatti, S. Porello, P. Bonfante, R. Balestrini, and L. Alberghina, J. Bacteriol. 175:1879-1885, 1993; A. F. J. Ram, S. S. C. Brekelmans, L. J. W. M. Oehlen, and F. M. Klis, FEBS Lett. 358:165-170, 1995). We show here that gas1delta cells release beta1,3-glu...