Anti-tumor effects of β-glucan

This comprehensive 2020 rodent study investigated dozens of scenarios for β-glucan in the context of anti-tumor immunity:

“Neutrophils and granulopoietic progenitors are major cellular effectors of β-glucan-induced trained immunity. The anti-tumor effect of β-glucan-induced trained immunity was mediated by qualitative changes in neutrophils.

A tumor-suppressive phenotype in neutrophils was associated with training of granulopoiesis mediated by type I IFN [interferon] signaling. Our analysis provided additional evidence for trained immunity-induced epigenetic rewiring of granulopoiesis toward an anti-tumor phenotype and corroborated the experimentally demonstrated IFN- and ROS-related mechanisms.

We observed inhibition of tumor growth by systemic transfer of trained neutrophils into already tumor-bearing mice. As granulocyte transfusion is currently considered as a therapy in humans with neutropenia, it is conceivable that cancer patients could receive as an adjuvant immunotherapy granulocytes from normal donors after induction of trained immunity in the latter.

Our study is the first to link the anti-tumor actions of β-glucan to trained immunity. We show here that the innate immune training and rewiring of granulopoiesis underlies the anti-tumor effect of β-glucan.”

https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(20)31299-X “Innate Immune Training of Granulopoiesis Promotes Anti-tumor Activity”

Which do you prefer? The study’s graphical abstract:

or one of its volcano plots?

Here’s an overview of one investigated direction:

“To determine whether adaptive immunity is involved in the anti-tumor effect induced by β-glucan, mice that lack B and T cells were treated with β-glucan [1 mg] prior to the secondary tumor challenge. Pre-treatment with β-glucan decreased both B16-F10 [melanoma] and LLC [Lewis lung carcinoma] tumor burden also in [these] mice, showing that the anti-tumor effect of β-glucan-induced trained immunity does not require adaptive immunity.”

This study provided another example of what they called rewiring (but I term reprogramming) of the body’s environmental signaling pathways to achieve a desired phenotype, trained innate immunity. Whatever the terminology, almost every day over the past fifteen years I’ve eaten β-glucan in an oats breakfast and a 1/3, 1/6 yeast supplement at dinner as part of individually evolving.

Reprogramming other signaling pathways are in blog posts such as: