Protective effect of β-glucan extracted from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, against DNA damage and cytotoxicity in wild-type (k1) and repair-deficient (xrs5) CHO cells

A large number of functional foods, including those that contain β-glucan, have been shown to prevent the development of cancer and other chronic diseases. The aim of the present study was to elucidate its mechanism of action, as well as to understand its effects as an antigenotoxic, anticlastogenic agent, and to determine its capacity to preserve cell viability. The investigation was carried out in the CHO-k1 and CHO-xrs5 cell lines. The cytokinesis-blocked micronucleus assay indicated that the different doses of β-glucan examined (5, 10, 20 and 40 μg/ml) did not show clastogenic effects. In the CHO-k1 cell line, a chemopreventive effect could be observed in all the protocols tested: pre-treatment (% reduction of 35.0–57.3), simultaneous treatment (simple – 5 reduction of 19.7–55.6 and with pre-incubation – of 42.7–56.4) and post-treatment (% reduction of 17.9–37.6). This finding indicates mechanisms of action involving desmutagenesis and bioantimutagenesis, albeit the latter having a lesser role. However, in the repair-deficient CHO-xrs5 cells, β-glucan did not show a protective effect with post-treatment (% reduction of 2.96), thus supporting the involvement of bioantimutagenesis. The comet assay in CHO-k1 cells demonstrated that β-glucan has neither a genotoxic nor an antigenotoxic effect. Cell viability tests indicated that β-glucan preserves cell viability in both cell lines, preventing apoptotic events. These findings suggest that β-glucan, when present in foods, could provide them with nutraceutical characteristics and act as a dietary supplement, or that β-glucan could be used in new drug development.