Increased release of cytokines from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells by the B- galactoside- specific lectin from clinically applied mistletoe extract

Journal/Book: in: Cytokines in Hemopoiesis, Onkol. and AIDS, Freund M., Link H., Welte K. (eds.), Springer, Berlin 337-341. 1990;

Abstract: A beta-galactoside-specific lectin from proprietary mistletoe extract,recently reported to exhibit immunomodulatory potency in vivo (T. Hajto,K. Hostanska, and H-J. Gabius, Cancer Res. 49: 4803-4808, 1989), inducedincreased secretion of tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin 1, andinterleukin 6 in cultures of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.The enhancement of secretion, determined independently by bioassays andenzyme-linked immunosorbent assay-based quantitation, was caused byselective protein-carbohydrate interaction, as revealed by the strictdependence on the presence of the carbohydrate-binding subunit of thelectin and the reduction of the effect of the lectin in the presence ofthe specific lectin-binding sugar as well as anti-lectin antibodies.Increased cytokine levels in serum of patients after injection ofoptimal lectin doses corroborated the in vivo results. Thus, these dataprovide an explanation for the increases in cellular parameters of thehost defense system in vivo, which presents a further step toward theirpotentially beneficial clinical exploitation in standardized regimens.

Keyword(s): Medical:cancer-immunotherapy

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