title: Maturation of dendritic cells by pullulan promotes anti-cancer effect.
abstract: Previous studies have demonstrated that pullulan, a polysaccharide purified from Aureobasidium pullulans, has immune-stimulatory effects on T and B cells. Moreover, pullulan has been used as a carrier in the delivery of the antigen (Ag) peptide to lymphoid tissues. However, the in vivo effect of pullulan on dendritic cells (DC) has not been well characterized. In this study, we assessed the effect of pullulan on DC activation and anti-cancer immunity. The results showed that the pullulan treatment up-regulated co-stimulatory molecule expression and enhanced pro-inflammatory cytokine production in bone marrow-derived DCs (BMDC) in vitro and in spleen DCs in vivo. Moreover, the combination of ovalbumin (OVA) and pullulan induced OVA antigen-specific T cell activations in vivo. In tumor-bearing mice, pullulan induced the maturation of DCs in spleen and tumor draining lymph node (drLN), and promoted the OVA-specific T cell activation and migration of the T cells into the tumor. In addition, the combination of OVA and pullulan inhibited B16-OVA tumor growth and liver metastasis. The combination of tyrosinase-related protein 2 (TRP2) peptide and pullulan treatment also suppressed B16 melanoma growth. Thus, the results demonstrated that pullulan enhanced DC maturation and function, and it acted as an adjuvant in promoting Ag-specific immune responses in mice. Thus, pullulan could be a new and useful adjuvant for use in therapeutic cancer vaccines.
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Periodontal Department, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoqian
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Pukyong National University, Busan, South Korea.
authors.forename: Minseok
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kwak
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: LiJun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, The Forsyth Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA.|Department of Oral Medicine, Infection and Immunity, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Jun-O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Jin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D016207:Cytokines / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005936:Glucans / Q000276:immunology / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008546:Melanoma, Experimental / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000276:immunology / Q000494:pharmacology; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D010047:Ovalbumin / Q000276:immunology / Q000494:pharmacology; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000276:immunology / Q000494:pharmacology; D016019:Survival Analysis; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D005936:Glucans; D008565:Membrane Proteins; D010446:Peptide Fragments; C500290:peptide SVYDFFVWL; C009109:pullulan; D010047:Ovalbumin
keywords: adjuvant; anti-cancer; dendritic cell; immunotherapy; pullulan