Macrophage J774.1 cell is activated by MZ-Fraction (Klasma-MZ) polysaccharide in Grifola frondosa

We previously reported that the (β1,3)-branched (β1,6)-glucan, MD-Fraction extracted from the fruit body of the edible maitake mushroom (Grifola frondosa) exhibits an antitumor effect. In this study, we separated a new polysaccharide from maitake, which we named Maitake MZ-Fraction (Klasma-MZ). MZ-Fraction is a β-glucan with a low molecular weight of about 20000, which has a β1,3- and a β1,6-bond. MZ-Fraction enhanced TNF-α and IL-12 productivity and the antigen presentation of murine macrophage cell line J774.1 in vitro. Furthermore, MZ-Fraction showed antitumor activity similar to MD-Fraction in vivo.