Trial lecture - time and place
10.11.2023, 10.15, Auditorium 1, Helga Eng
Click chemistry in glycoscience
Conferral summary
Celleveggen hos sopp er rik på beta-glukaner, og tidligere studier har vist at disse makromolekylene er i stand til å interagere med immunceller hos pattedyr. I dette prosjektet ble beta-glukaner fra kongeøsterssopp undersøkt med hensyn på struktur og immunmodulerende egenskaper. Det ble også utviklet en generisk metode for å finfordele vann-uløselig beta-glukan, noe som kan gi materialet økt anvendelighet for eksempel til farmasøytiske formål.
Main research findings
The cell walls of mushrooms and other fungi consist of β-glucans: long chains of glucose attached via β-glycosidic linkages. Possible interactions with the immune system give fungal β-glucans pharmaceutical potential. This activity depends on the structures of the β-glucans, and whether they are in a soluble or particulate state.
Mushrooms like the king oyster mushroom (Pleurotus eryngii) can be grown on agricultural wates, making them sustainable sources of fungal cell wall material. This thesis investigated the structures and immunomodulatory properties of cell wall β-glucans from the king oyster mushroom. Both water-soluble and water-insoluble β-glucans were identified and characterized. Their structures were found to be typical of fungal β-glucans. A method for dispersing the water-insoluble material was developed using β-glucan material from another edible mushroom: the sheep polypore mushroom (Albatrellus ovinus). All the studied β-glucans interacted with the immune receptor dectin-1a, but they displayed limited activity in immune cell experiments. The results indicate that the mushroom β-glucans may be used to target immune cells. In addition, the developed dispersing method makes the study of poorly water-soluble β-glucans easier. This may lead to increased applicability of such material, for instance in pharmaceutical applications.
Read more (in Norwegian)
- Stor matsopp kan vise korleis immunforsvaret reagerer på infeksjon frå mikroskopisk sopp (forskning.no, 14. juli 2021)
- Betaglukan frå sopp kan påverka immunforsvaret. Men det er vanskeleg å studera (forskning.no, 15. mai 2023)