Antitumor effect of soluble β-glucan as an immune stimulant.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to review the molecular structure, antitumor immune activities, structure-activity relationship, and clinical trials of soluble β-glucans to assess their potential as immunostimulants in cancer treatment.
Results Summary
The study found that soluble β-glucans activate pro-inflammatory responses in immune cells, enhance antitumor defense, and have been widely used in clinical antitumor studies as immunostimulants. Their biological activities include lipid-lowering, hypoglycemic, and immune regulation effects.
Population
Cancer patients (clinical studies) and general immune cell research (in vitro/in vivo).
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
Not specified
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
β-glucan | decrease | lipid levels | - | - | lipid-lowering | #1 |
β-glucan | decrease | blood glucose levels | - | - | hypoglycemic | #2 |
β-glucan | decrease | tumor growth | - | - | antitumor | #3 |
β-glucan | increase | immune function | - | - | immune regulation | #4 |
soluble β-glucan | increase | pro-inflammatory response of innate immune cells | - | - | activates | #5 |
soluble β-glucan | increase | host's antitumor defense | - | - | enhances | #6 |
soluble β-glucans | decrease | cancer | cancer patient | - | used as an immunostimulant to treat | #7 |
β-glucans are linear polysaccharides of d-glucose monomers linked through β-glycosidic bonds and are widely present in nature. Different sources lead to their structural differences. β-glucan has long been acknowledged to be a safe and functional component. Its biological activities include lipid-lowering, hypoglycemic, antitumor and immune regulation etc. A large number of studies have shown that soluble β-glucan can bind to their receptors on the surface of immune cells, activates the pro-inflammatory response of innate immune cells, and enhances the host's antitumor defense. A variety of soluble β-glucans have been widely used in clinical antitumor studies as an immunostimulant to treat the cancer patient. In this paper, we reviewed the molecular structure, antitumor immune activities, structure-activity relationship and clinical trials of soluble β-glucans in order to provide the overall scene of β-glucans as immunostimulant to fight the cancer.