Abstract
Non-toxic stimulation of dendritic cells (DCs), which are central immunomodulators, may aid the prevention of cancer. Furthermore, induction of apoptosis in cancer cells by anticancer agents contributes to the induction of DC maturation. We previously reported that extracts from Pinus parviflora Sieb. et Zucc pine cone and Mucuna seed induce differentiation of mouse bone marrow cells into mature dendritic cells and also induce apoptosis in various human cancer cell lines. In the present study, we screened 31 kinds of edible beans with biological activity similar to that of extracts from pine cone and Mucuna and found that the heat-stable extract from azuki bean (Vigna angula) stimulated differentiation of bone marrow cells into immature DCs with the greatest efficacy. The level of IL-6 produced by sequential treatment of DCs with azuki extract and lipopolysaccharide was the highest among the examined beans. Azuki extract also inhibited the growth of human leukemia U937 cells, leading to induction of apoptosis. These results suggest that azuki bean and its extract are immunopotentiating foods that can be used as a dietary supplement for cancer prevention and immunotherapy.
Highlights
Accumulating evidence indicates that stimulation of anti-cancer immune responses may contribute to the prevention of cancer and to its management after conventional radiotherapy and chemotherapy (Zitvogel et al, 2008)
We previously reported that an extract from Pinus parviflora Sieb. et Zucc pine cone and an extract from Mucuna pruviens var. utilis seed induce differentiation of human mononuclear cells into Dendritic cells (DCs) in vitro, and these extracts have been shown to induce apoptosis in human cancer cells (An et al, 2010; Kurokawa et al, 2011)
We examined whether extracts from each of the 31 kinds of beans, which constituted all types commercially available, promoted differentiation of bone marrow (BM) cells into immature DCs as we had previously observed for Mucuna extract (Kurokawa et al, 2010)
Summary
Accumulating evidence indicates that stimulation of anti-cancer immune responses may contribute to the prevention of cancer and to its management after conventional radiotherapy and chemotherapy (Zitvogel et al, 2008). DCs engulf apoptotic tumor cells through recognition of apoptotic characteristics of cancer cells induced by γ-irradiation or treatment with anti-cancer agents such as doxorubicin and mitoxantrone, leading to maturation of DCs and a potent in vivo immune response (Obeid et al, 2007; Apetoh et al, 2008). These findings suggest that combined administration of an inducer of apoptosis in cancer cells and chemical agents with strong differentiation and maturation-inducing activity for DCs might be useful for preventing and/or curing cancer. The DC differentiation/maturationinducing activity of azuki beans was the highest among the examined beans
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