title: Dietary whole glucan particles do not affect antibody or cell-mediated immune responses to influenza virus vaccination in mice.
abstract: Influenza virus is a serious health concern. β-glucans derived from plants, bacteria, and fungi have been shown to potentiate immune system responses including those elicited by vaccination. However, in these studies β-glucan was administered as an adjuvant in the vaccine preparation. We hypothesized that addition of a commercially available whole glucan particle supplement to the diet would improve immune response to primary and secondary influenza vaccination in mice. β-glucan was added to pelleted diet and fed to mice at concentrations designed to deliver 0 (control), 1.8 or 90 mg·kg(-1)·day(-1) to each mouse. Influenza vaccine was given intramuscularly in the left hindlimb and primary and secondary responses were assessed. Supplementation with β-glucan was not effective in boosting immune responses to the vaccine, either in the primary or secondary vaccination experiments. Surprisingly, addition of particulate β-glucan to the vaccine itself also failed to elicit a greater antibody response. These observations suggest that this particular form of β-glucan is ineffective in boosting immune response to intramuscular influenza vaccination. Further study is warranted to determine if the use of different mouse models, different vaccine delivery systems, or β-glucans purified from different strains of bacteria, fungi, or plants could improve outcomes using this or similar protocols.
authors.affiliation: Department of Kinesiology & Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA.
authors.forename: Brandt D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Pence
authors.forename: Shelly N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Hester
authors.forename: Sharon M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Donovan
authors.forename: Jeffrey A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Woods
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000378:metabolism; D000917:Antibody Formation / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D007111:Immunity, Cellular / Q000187:drug effects; D007117:Immunization, Secondary; D009980:Influenza A virus / Q000276:immunology*; D007252:Influenza Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009976:Orthomyxoviridae Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D014611:Vaccination; D047071:beta-Glucans / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D016207:Cytokines; D007252:Influenza Vaccines; D047071:beta-Glucans