Developing cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) fibers, cultured in vitro with their associated ovules, were used to compare the effects of two herbicides that inhibit cellulose synthesis: 2,6-dichlorobenzonitrile (DCB) and an experimental thiatriazine-based herbicide, CGA 325'615. CGA 325'615 in nanomolar concentrations or DCB in micromolar concentrations causes inhibition of synthesis of crystalline c...

The exopolysaccharide beta-glucan has been reported to be associated with many health-promoting and prebiotic properties. The membrane-associated glycosyltransferase enzyme (encoded by the gtf gene), responsible for microbial beta-glucan production, catalyzes the conversion of sugar nucleotides into beta-glucan. In this study, the gtf gene from Pediococcus parvulus 2.6 was heterologously expres...

Periodontal disease is the consequence of a mixed Gram-negative infection in the gingival sulcus and has been associated with deficits in the neutrophil response. A novel, and heretofore untested, alternative approach to therapy is the use of biological-response modulators that enhance the neutrophil response. Poly-beta1-6-glucotriosyl-beta1-3-glucopyranose glucan (PGG-glucan) is an immunomodul...

Candida albicans is a virulent human opportunistic pathogen. It evades innate immune surveillance by masking an immunogenic cell wall polysaccharide, β-glucan, from recognition by the immunoreceptor Dectin-1. Glucan unmasking by the antifungal drug caspofungin leads to changes in the nanostructure of glucan exposure accessible to Dectin-1. The physical mechanism that regulates glucan exposure i...

Infiltration of the lungs with neutrophils promotes respiratory failure during severe Pneumocystis carinii (PC) pneumonia. Recent studies have shown that alveolar epithelial cells (AECs), in addition to promoting PC attachment, also participate in lung inflammation by the release of cytokines and chemokines. Herein, we demonstrate that a PC beta-glucan rich cell wall isolate (PCBG) stimulates t...

objective: in recent decades, β-glucans have been used as important complementary and alternative medicines for numerous immunocompromised individuals and those with end stage of cancer terminal. the most active form of β-glucans is β(1,3)d-glucan and its  most common source is cell wall of candida albicans. recently it has been introduced as a nano particle design to be used as a carrier for d...

Recent data showing that glucan stimulates defense reactions in plants through synthesis of resveratrol, led us to study the possible synergetic effects of a glucan-resveratrol complex on immune reactions in mice. We measured phagocytic activity, expression of CD4 marker on spleen cells, IL-2 secretion and antibody response. In all cases we confirmed the stimulatory effects of glucan. Resveratr...

Abstract In this study, ethanol organosolv treatment of oat husk and the potential effects phosphoric acid oxalic as alternatives to sulfuric were investigated. These acids determined effective obtain high quality lignin glucan they can be used instead in solvent acidification. To determine purity recovery both glucan, initial substrate amount, solid-to-liquid ratio, amount washing solutions al...

1. Commercial pressed baker's yeast, and cell walls prepared from it, were extracted in various ways and the products examined by a number of techniques, including infrared spectroscopy and electron microscopy. 2. The glucan components of the walls cannot be extracted from intact yeast cells by 3% (w/v) sodium hydroxide at 750, but at least one-third ofthe glucan of cell wall preparations is di...

Although α-1,3-glucan is a major cell wall polysaccharide in filamentous fungi, its biological functions remain unclear, except that it acts as a virulence factor in animal and plant pathogenic fungi: it conceals cell wall β-glucan on the fungal cell surface to circumvent recognition by hosts. However, cell wall α-1,3-glucan is also present in many of non-pathogenic fungi. Recently, the univers...