Soluble Dectin-1 as a tool to detect β-glucans

β-Glucans are structural components of fungal cell walls which are involved in the immune recognition of fungal pathogens and possess beneficial immunomodulatory activities in isolated form. Here we have developed a soluble chimeric form of the major mammalian β-glucan receptor, Dectin-1, and demonstrate its application for the detection and characterisation of soluble and insoluble β-glucans, including fungal particles, using ELISA, flow cytometric and fluorescence-based microscopy assays.