Cognigni Valeria, Ranallo Nicoletta, Tronconi Francesca, Morgese Francesca, Berardi Rossana
Clinical Oncology, Università Politecnica delle Marche, AOU Ospedali Riuniti, 60126 Ancona, Italy.
Explor Target Antitumor Ther. 2021;2(2):122-138. doi: 10.37349/etat.2021.00036. Epub 2021 Apr 30.
Fungal compounds have long been used for centuries as food supplements. β-glucans have been identified as the most interesting molecules with beneficial effects in several chronic diseases. studies have shown that they are able to elicit the immune cells maturation and activation with the result of an increased release of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines and a stimulation of anti-bacterial activity of macrophages and neutrophils. As β-glucans enhance pathogen elimination through non-self antigens identification, they can also direct immune response against tumor cells. These compounds also stimulate the activity on adaptive immune cells and they have been regarded as biological response modifiers. In this way, β-glucans can be exploited as adjuvant cancer therapy, in particular by a synergic action with chemotherapy or immunotherapy. In the immuno-oncology era, the need is to identify innovative drugs that can simultaneously target and inhibit different biological processes relevant for cancer cells survivors. Recent clinical studies showed promising results about the combination of β-glucans and immune checkpoint inhibitors for patients affected by different solid tumors. This review aims to investigate molecular mechanisms of action of β-glucans and is focused on their application in clinical practice as immune-adjuvants for treatment of cancer patients.
几个世纪以来，真菌化合物一直被用作食品补充剂。β-葡聚糖已被确定为在几种慢性疾病中具有有益作用的最有趣的分子。研究表明，它们能够引发免疫细胞的成熟和激活，导致促炎细胞因子和趋化因子的释放增加，并刺激巨噬细胞和中性粒细胞的抗菌活性。由于β-葡聚糖通过识别非自身抗原来增强病原体清除，它们还可以引导针对肿瘤细胞的免疫反应。这些化合物还刺激适应性免疫细胞的活性，它们被视为生物反应调节剂。通过这种方式，β-葡聚糖可以用作辅助癌症治疗，特别是通过与化疗或免疫疗法的协同作用。在免疫肿瘤学时代，需要识别能够同时靶向和抑制与癌细胞存活相关的不同生物学过程的创新药物。最近的临床研究表明，β-葡聚糖与免疫检查点抑制剂联合使用对患有不同实体瘤的患者有令人鼓舞的结果。这篇综述旨在研究β-葡聚糖的分子作用机制，并重点关注其在临床实践中作为癌症患者免疫佐剂的应用。
