Bioactive chitin derivatives. Activation of mouse-peritoneal macrophages by O-(carboxymethyl)chitins

✍ Scribed by Shin-Ichiro Nishimura; Norio Nishi; Seiichi Tokura; Keiko Nishimura; Ichiro Azuma

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1986
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 472 KB
• Volume: 146
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0008-6215
• DOI: 10.1016/0008-6215(86)85044-3

✦ Synopsis

The effect of O-(carboxymethyl)chitins (CM-chitins) on the activation of mouse-peritoneal macrophages in vivo and their mitogenic activity on mouse spleen-cells were investigated. The induction of cytotoxic macrophages is enhanced by an increase of negative charge at O-6 and decreased by further modification at O-3 of the GlcNAc residue. CM-Chitins had a minor effect on mitogenic activity that was independent of the site of modification; partially N-deacetylated chitins had little activity. Although there was remarkable enhancement of accessibility to lysozyme upon modification at O-6 of the GlcNAc residue, the accessibility was decreased by further substitution at O-3.