The Effect of Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Β -Glucan on Proliferation, Phagocytosis and Cytokine Production of Murine Macrophages and Dendritic Cells

β -Glucan is a natural carbohydrate, which is produced by the variety of different organisms - bacteria, fungi, plants, etc. β -Glucan from different sources has been recognized as an active material, which is an immune stimulator for plants, invertebrates and mammals. Saccharomyces cerevisiae , the baker’s yeast, is one of the commonly used sources of β -1,3-glucan. The aim of the present work was to investigate how the different S. cerevisiae β -glucan preparations affect proliferation, phagocytosis and cytokine production of murine macrophages and dendritic cells. In our experiments, BALB/c macrophages and dendritic cells were treated with different β -glucan preparations in vitro. Then cell proliferation (AlamarBlue reagent), ability to phagocytose zymosan particles and production of IL-12 and IFN7 (Western blot) were investigated. Our results showed that β -glucan preparations stimulated proliferation of BALB/c macrophages and dendritic cells in vitro , but acted on phagocytosis and cytokine synthesis in different ways. This study demonstrated that S. cerevisiae β -glucan preparations propelled proliferation of the murine macrophages and dendritic cells and influenced phagocytosis and cytokine production of these cells. These effects can depend on the size of β -glucan molecules.