Antitumor effect of soluble beta-1,3-glucan from Agrobacterium sp r259 KCTC 1019

Abstract

beta-1,3-Glucans enhance immune reactions such as antitumor, antibacterial, antiviral, anticoagulatory and wound healing activities. beta-1,3-Glucans have various functions depending on the molecular weight, degree of branching, conformation, water solubility, and intermolecular association. The molecular weight of the soluble glucan was about 15,000 as determined by a high-performance size exclusion chromatography. From the infrared (IR) and C-13 NMR analytical data, the purified soluble glucan was found to exclusively consist Of beta-D-glueopyranose with 1,3 linkage. We tested the immune-stimulating activities of the soluble beta-1,3-glucan extracted from Agrobocterium sp. R259 KCTC 10 19 and confirmed the following activities. IFN-gamma and each cytokines were induced in the spleens and thymus of mice treated with soluble beta-1,3-glucan. Adjuvant effect was observed on antibody production. Nitric oxide was synthesized in monocytic cell lines treated with beta-1,3-glucan. The cytotoxic and antitumor effects were observed on various cancer cell lines and ICR mice. These results strongly suggested that this soluble beta-1,3-glucan could be a good candidate for an immune-modulating agent.