Abstract
The immunopotentiating activity of nigerooligosaccharides (NOS), a mixture of nigerose, nigerosyl glucose and nigerosyl maltose, was studied in vitro and in vivo in mice. Mitogen-induced proliferation of splenocytes from normal mice was augmented in a dose-dependent manner by nigerose of NOS. NOS enhanced interleukin 12 (IL-12) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) production by normal splenocytes in the presence of the potent IL-12 inducer, heat-killed Lactobacillus plantarum L-137, in vitro. Consistent with the in vitro finding, L. plantarum L-137-induced IL-12 production and IL-2-induced IFN-γ production were augmented in mice fed with a 14.6% NOS diet for 2 weeks compared with mice fed with a control diet. Notably, mice fed with the NOS diet showed significantly longer survival time than the control mice after the induction of an endogenous infection by administering 5-fluorouracil in a lethal dose. Taken together, these results suggest that NOS may exert immunopotentiating activity through the activation of an IL-12-dependent T helper 1-like immune response.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 373-378 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Bioscience, Biotechnology and Biochemistry |
Volume | 63 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jan 1 1999 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Biotechnology
- Analytical Chemistry
- Biochemistry
- Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
- Molecular Biology
- Organic Chemistry