β-Glucans are well known for its various bioactivities, but the underlying mechanism has not been fully understood. This study focuses on the anti-tumor effect and the potential mechanism of a branched β-(1, 3)-glucan (LNT) extracted from Lentinus edodes. The in vivo data indicated that LNT showed a profound inhibition ratio of ~75% against S-180 tumor growth, even significantly higher than the positive control of Cytoxan (~54%). Interestingly, LNT sharply promoted immune cells accumulation into tumors accompanied by cell apoptosis and inhibition of cell proliferation during tumor development. Furthermore, LNT not only up-regulated expressions of the tumor suppressor p53, cell cycle arrestin p21 and pro-apoptotic proteins of Bax and caspase 3/9, but also down-regulated PARP1 and anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 expressions in tumor tissues. It was first found that LNT initiated p53-dependent signaling pathway to suppress cell proliferation in vitro and the caspase-dependent pathway to induce cell apoptosis in vivo. The underlying anti-tumor mechanism was proposed that LNT activated immune responses to induce cell apoptosis through caspase 3-dependent signaling pathway and to inhibit cell proliferation possibly via p53-dependent signaling pathway in vivo. Besides, LNT inhibited angiogenesis by suppressing VEGF expression, leading to slow progression of tumors.
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This 2016 Scientific Reports study examined the anti-tumor effects of lentinan, the β-1,3/1,6-glucan from Lentinus edodes, and its combination with conventional therapy in cancer models.
Lentinan β-glucan demonstrated significant anti-tumor activity and enhanced the effects of conventional cancer therapy through combined immune activation and direct anti-tumor mechanisms. Macrophage and NK cell activation were primary drivers of the anti-tumor effect, with lentinan-treated tumors showing enhanced immune infiltration.
As a structural analogue of AP-glucan, lentinan's anti-tumor mechanism profile provides a predictive framework for Aureobasidium pullulans β-glucan's potential cancer support activities. Enhanced immune infiltration of tumors by β-glucan treatment supports AP-glucan research in oncology contexts.
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Xu H., Zou S., Xu X., Zhang L.. Anti-tumor effect of β-glucan from Lentinus edodes and the underlying mechanism. Scientific Reports. 2016. DOI: 10.1038/srep28802.
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