Alteration of natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity in rats treated with selenium, diethylnitrosamine and ethylnitrosourea.
Talcott PA, Exon JH, Koller LD.
Cancer Lett. 1984 Jul;23(3):313-22.
PMID: 6611196
Fish oil and tocopherol-induced changes in natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity and PGE2 synthesis in young and old mice.
Meydani SN, Yogeeswaran G, Liu S, Baskar S, Meydani M.
J Nutr. 1988 Oct;118(10):1245-52.
PMID: 3183771
Selenium and immunocompetence in patients with head and neck cancer.
Kiremidjian-Schumacher L, Roy M, Glickman R, Schneider K, Rothstein S, Cooper J, Hochster H, Kim M, Newman R.
Biol Trace Elem Res. 2000 Feb;73(2):97-111.
PMID: 11049203
DOI: 10.1385/BTER:73:2:97
Impact of fish oil enriched total parenteral nutrition on DNA synthesis, cytokine release and receptor expression by lymphocytes in the postoperative period.
Schauder P, Röhn U, Schäfer G, Korff G, Schenk HD.
Br J Nutr. 2002 Jan;87 Suppl 1:S103-10.
PMID: 11895146
doi:10.1079/BJN2001463
The effect of dietary omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on T-lymphocyte subsets of patients with solid tumors.
Gogos CA, Ginopoulos P, Zoumbos NC, Apostolidou E, Kalfarentzos F.
Cancer Detect Prev. 1995;19(5):415-7.
PMID: 7585727
Mainstream medical treatment of cancer revolves around surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy, used either alone or in combination (Isobe T et al 2005; Ostoros G et al 2005). Chemotherapy and radiation therapy cannot discriminate between cancer cells and healthy cells; thus, they damage both types of cells and cause serious and often debilitating side effects, frequently forcing patients to abandon treatment (Ettinger DS 2005; Giraud P et al 2004; Munden RF et al 2005). Therefore, it is not surprising that many cancer patients now opt to complement conventional treatments with alternative therapies that may not only temper the adverse side effects of conventional cancer therapy, but also improve its effectiveness via independent anti-cancer effects.
beta-glucan
A polysaccharide isolated from the cell walls of bacteria, plants, and fungi with immunostimulant and antineoplastic activities. In a solubilized form, beta-glucan binds to a lectin site within complement receptor 3 (CR3) on leukocytes, priming the receptor to trigger cytotoxic degranulation of leukocytes when leukocyte CR3 binds to complement 3 (iC3b)-coated tumors. Thus, the attachment of beta-glucan to CR3 of circulating leukocytes simulates leukocytes to kill iC3b-coated tumor cells in the same way as they kill iC3b-coated yeast. Check for active clinical trials or closed clinical trials using this agent. (NCI Thesaurus)
Beta Glucan is primarily cultured extract of Baker's Yeast cell wall. It is used as an immunostimulant. Beta glucans are sugar molecules (polysaccharides). They are found bound together as a sugar/protein complex. Certain plants and microorganisms are naturally high in this polysaccharide compound. The richest concentrated source is baker's yeast cell walls. (Because there is basically no yeast left in the products and they have low protein levels, it is considered hypoallergenic.) It is present in lesser amounts in mushroom extracts and Lentinen, Barley, Oat, etc. Sodium alginate is also an excellent source, but the high sodium content is a major drawback in the processing for supplemental use. An expensive research extract called Zymosan™ has been used for doing research for over 45 years. Much of the research has been in combining it with conventional approaches, such as chemotherapy, but it has been found to work well on its own.
β-Glucans (or beta-glucans) are polysaccharides of D-glucose monomers linked by glycosidic bonds. They occur most commonly as cellulose in plants and trees, the bran of cereal grains, the cell wall of baker's yeast, certain types of fungi, and many kinds of mushrooms and bacteria. Some forms of beta glucans are useful in human nutrition as texturing agents and as soluble fiber supplements, but problematic in brewing as excessive levels make the wort too viscous. Yeast derived beta glucans are notable for their immunomodulatory function
The application of probiotics in cancer.
de Moreno de LeBlanc A, Matar C, Perdigón G.
Br J Nutr. 2007 Oct;98 Suppl 1:S105-10. Review.
PMID: 17922945
doi:10.1017/S0007114507839602
Serum tumor necrosis factor-alpha concentrations are negatively correlated with serum 25(OH)D concentrations in healthy women.
Peterson CA, Heffernan ME.
J Inflamm (Lond). 2008 Jul 24;5:10.
PMID: 18652680
doi:10.1186/1476-9255-5-10
Conclusion
Serum 25(OH)D status is inversely related to TNF-α concentrations in healthy women, which may in part explain this vitamin's role in the prevention and treatment of inflammatory diseases. Results gleaned from this investigation also support the need to re-examine the biological basis for determining optimal vitamin D status.
Investigation of the immunomodulatory effects of Lactobacillus casei and Bifidobacterium lactis on Helicobacter pylori infection.
Zhang L, Su P, Henriksson A, O'Rourke J, Mitchell H.
Helicobacter. 2008 Jun;13(3):183-90.
PMID: 18466393
DOI: 10.1111/j.1523-5378.2008.00595.x
Effects of probiotic bacteria and their genomic DNA on TH1/TH2-cytokine production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of healthy and allergic subjects.
Ghadimi D, Fölster-Holst R, de Vrese M, Winkler P, Heller KJ, Schrezenmeir J.
Immunobiology. 2008;213(8):677-92. Epub 2008 Apr 2.
PMID: 18950596
doi:10.1016/j.imbio.2008.02.001
Relationship between the in vitro response of dendritic cells to Lactobacillus and prevention of tumorigenesis in the mouse.
Takagi A, Ikemura H, Matsuzaki T, Sato M, Nomoto K, Morotomi M, Yokokura T.
J Gastroenterol. 2008;43(9):661-9. Epub 2008 Sep 20.
PMID: 18807127
DOI: 10.1007/s00535-008-2212-7
