Objective: Glucans are already known as biological modifiers of the immune system and cytokine modulation (IFN-y; TNF; T-CD4/CD8), but the role of low molecular weight glucans on transcriptome regulation is not well documented.

Materials and Methods: In this paper, the mechanism of action of a mix in capsules of 0.6 g of β-Glucan (Active hexose correlated compound "AHCC" and β-Glucan 1,3-1,6) on the neoplastic cell line transcriptome has been explored. The cellular models used were Caco2 and LS174T cell lines. Transcriptome analysis was performed by RNA expression analysis of transcripts of both single and multiple samples. The analysis was completed with the aid of information technology.

Results: ROS (Reactive Oxygen Species) decrease following glucans treatment (Figure 1) combined with a marked improvement in the Redox control of SOD1 (Superoxide Dismutase 1) (Figure 2), which is present in the cytosol of all eukaryotic cells with copper and zinc (Cu-Zn-SOD). Following glucan mix treatment, COX-2 (cyclooxygenase-2) expression levels showed a marked reduction (Figure 3A). The combined glucan treatment on the two cell lines showed an over expression of SOD1 with a significant reduction in COX-2 expression (Figure 3A). Pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1, IL-6, TNF-α, were consequently down-expressed (Figure 3B, C, D).

Conclusions: The glucan mix reduces ROS significantly, decreasing COX-2 expression, reducing the inflammatory state and consequently decreasing TNF-α and IL-1.