title: Glucan Supplementation Has Strong Anti-melanoma Effects: Role of NK Cells.
abstract: β-Glucan is a natural immunomodulator consisting of glucose molecules. It is a well-established modifier with significant beneficial properties in infectious diseases and cancer therapy. Glucan effects on melanoma are relatively less studied, despite the increasing incidence of this type of cancer. In the current study, we focused on possible effects of insoluble yeast-derived β-glucan on the growth of melanoma cells. We found that glucan supplementation had a strong-positive effect in both reducing tumor weight, lung colonies and overall survival rate of tested animals. In addition, glucan inhibited the damage to blood cells and potentiated the effects of regular chemotherapy. By using depletion of natural killer (NK) cells, we showed that these effects are, at least partly, mediated by direct action of glucan on NK cells.
authors.affiliation: University of Louisville, Department of Pathology, Louisville, KY, U.S.A. Vaclav.vetvicka@louisville.edu.
authors.forename: Vaclav
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vetvicka
authors.affiliation: University of Louisville, Department of Pathology, Louisville, KY, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vetvickova
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D005260:Female; D056747:Immunomodulation; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000556:secondary; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008546:Melanoma, Experimental / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D016019:Survival Analysis; D023041:Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays; D047071:beta-Glucans / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D047071:beta-Glucans
keywords: Glucan; NK cells; antibodies; cancer; immunity; melanoma