Brewer’s yeast cell wall polysaccharides and their recognition by the innate immune system Check Access

Yeast polysaccharides, particularly β-glucans, have long been associated with immunomodulation and innate immune recognition. The induction of cellular response by β-glucans is a result of their interaction with specific pattern recognition receptors such as Dectin-1 (mostly insoluble beta-glucans), complement receptor 3 (CR3), toll-like receptors (TLRs) (mainly water-soluble glucans), scavenger receptor, and lactosylceramide receptor. The activity of β-glucan receptors seems to be dependent on the immune cell type exhibiting the receptor (e.g. neutrophil, macrophages, dendritic cells) and the structural variability of the recognized β-glucans (e.g. molecular weight, branching degree, tertiary structure, purity, solubility, and linkage patterns). The biological activity of brewer’s yeast cell wall polysaccharides is mainly related to specific patterns (recognition patterns), which are recognized by the innate immune system. In this chapter, a contextualization of the structural features of brewer’s yeast cell wall polysaccharides and their relationship with their immunomodulatory properties is provided.