Lentinan, a cell wall β-glucan from the fruiting bodies of Lentinus edodes, is well known to be a biological defense modifier, but the signal transduction pathway(s) induced by Lentinan have not been elucidated. In this study, we extracted Lentinan (LNT-S) by ultrasonication from Lentinus edodes and report that, in murine RAW 264.7 macrophages,
Abstract β-Glucans are naturally occurring polysaccharides that are produced by bacteria, yeast, fungi, and many plants. Although their pharmacological activities, such as immunomodulatory, anti-infective and anti-cancer effects, have been well studied, it is still unclear how β-glucans exert their activities. However, recent studies on the β-glucan receptors shed some light
Abstract Persistent infections of hepatitis C virus (HCV) are known to be a major risk factor for causing hepatocellular carcinomas. Nonstructural protein 3 (NS3) of HCV has serine protease and RNA helicase domains, and is essential for the viral replication. Further, NS3 is also considered to be involved in the
Infection with influenza A virus causes acute respiratory tract infections in humans and may lead to lethal diseases including pneumonia. Identifying host factors that are involved in the severity of infectious diseases caused by influenza A virus is considered important for the prevention and treatment of these viral infections. This