Immunological properties of trehalose dimycolate (cord factor) and other mycolic acid-containing glycolipids--a review.
Mycolic acids are characteristic fatty acids of Mycobacteria and are responsible for the wax-like consistence of these microorganisms. Decades of research revealed that mycolic acid-containing glycolipids, in particular trehalose-6,6'-dimycolate (TDM, cord factor) as their best-studied representative, exert a number of immunomodifying effects. They are able to stimulate innate, early adaptive and both humoral and cellular adaptive immunity. Most functions can be associated with their ability to induce a wide range of chemokines (MCP-1, MIP-1alpha, IL-8) and cytokines (e.g., IL-12, IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, IL-4, IL-6, IL-10). This review tries to link well-known properties of mycolic acid-containing glycolipids, e.g., stimulation of cellular and humoral immunity, granuloma formation and anti-tumor activity, with recent findings in molecular immunology and to give an outlook on potential practical applications.
Ryll
R
R
Japan BCG Laboratory, Kiyose, Tokyo. ryll@jet.sci.kitasato-u.ac.jp
Kumazawa
Y
Y
Yano
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I
D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000276:immunology; D003311:Cord Factors / Q000276:immunology*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology; D006099:Granuloma / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D009169:Mycobacterium tuberculosis / Q000276:immunology*; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000276:immunology
D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D003311:Cord Factors; D016207:Cytokines