State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, School of Life Science and Technology, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, PR China.
PLoS One. 2013;8(3):e60781. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0060781. Epub 2013 Mar 29.
Various natural polysaccharides are capable of activating the immune system and therefore can be employed as biological response modifiers in anti-tumor therapy. We previously found a homogenous polysaccharide from the mycelium of marine fungus Phoma herbarum YS4108, named YCP, exhibiting strong in vivo antitumor ability via enhancement of the host immune responses. To further elucidate the role of YCP as a biological response modifier, the immunomodulating activities of YCP in B cells was investigated in the current study. We demonstrated that stimulation of YCP with murine splenic B cells resulted in cell proliferation and generation of IgM antibody response. Binding of YCP to B cells was a direct, saturable and reversible event and required TLR2 and TLR4 involvement. TLR2 and TLR4 defunctionalization by either antibody blocking or allele-specific mutation significantly impaired the B-cell proliferative and IgM responses to YCP. YCP interaction with TLR2 and TLR4 led to the activation of intracellular p38, ERK and JNK, as well as the translocation of transcriptional factor NF-κB into nucleus. Furthermore, specific inhibitors of p38, ERK, JNK and NF-κB could attenuate the ability of YCP to induce B cell proliferation and IgM production. Taken together, this study has indicated for the first time the immunostimulating properties of YCP on B cells through a receptor-mediated mechanism, which involves TLR2 and TLR4 and resultant activation of MAPK and NF-κB signaling pathways, thereby highlighting the role of YCP as an efficacious biological response modifier in oncologic immunotherapy.
各种天然多糖能够激活免疫系统,因此可以作为抗肿瘤治疗中的生物反应调节剂。我们之前从海洋真菌 Phoma herbarum YS4108 的菌丝体中发现了一种均一的多糖,命名为 YCP,它通过增强宿主的免疫反应表现出强大的体内抗肿瘤能力。为了进一步阐明 YCP 作为生物反应调节剂的作用,本研究探讨了 YCP 在 B 细胞中的免疫调节活性。我们证明,用 YCP 刺激小鼠脾 B 细胞可导致细胞增殖和 IgM 抗体反应的产生。YCP 与 B 细胞的结合是一个直接的、饱和的和可逆的事件,需要 TLR2 和 TLR4 的参与。通过抗体阻断或等位基因特异性突变使 TLR2 和 TLR4 功能丧失,显著削弱了 YCP 对 B 细胞增殖和 IgM 反应的作用。YCP 与 TLR2 和 TLR4 的相互作用导致细胞内 p38、ERK 和 JNK 的激活,以及转录因子 NF-κB 向核内的易位。此外,p38、ERK、JNK 和 NF-κB 的特异性抑制剂可减弱 YCP 诱导 B 细胞增殖和 IgM 产生的能力。总之,这项研究首次表明,YCP 通过受体介导的机制对 B 细胞具有免疫刺激特性,该机制涉及 TLR2 和 TLR4,以及 MAPK 和 NF-κB 信号通路的激活,从而强调了 YCP 在肿瘤免疫治疗中作为有效生物反应调节剂的作用。