Immunoadjuvant properties

Marcinkiewicz, J., Polewska, A., and Knapczyk, J. 1991. Immunoadjuvant properties of chitosan. Arch. Immunol. Then Exp. (Warsz). 39 127-132. 

Zaharoff DA, Rogers CJ, Hance KW, Schlom J, Greiner JW (2007) Chitosan solution enhances the immunoadjuvant properties of GM-CSF. Vaccine 25(52) 8673-8686... 

If the saponins from Quillaja saponaria (Rosaceae) and their anologs have been extensively studied as immunoadjuvants, few saponins from other sources have been reported to possess this property. In the following we will summarize results on studies of adjuvant saponins from Rhamnaceae, Araliaceae, Polygalaceae, and Fabaceae. 

One of the most important properties of chitosan is its antitumor activities for cancer therapy. Chitosan is reported to cause apoptosis and cancer cell cytotoxicity through caspase-3 activation. This property has been demonstrated on different tumor cells such as bladder, breast and colon cancer cells in different studies. Chitosan also has immunoadjuvant effects. It has been shown to stimulate macrophages and polymorphonuclear cells, thus inhibiting tumor cell proliferation. Thanks to these properties, chitosan has been extensively studied as a polymer for nanocarriers for decades. 

Adam. A., R. Ciorbaru, J.-F. Petit, and E. Lederer Isolation and properties of a macromolecular water-soluble immunoadjuvant fraction from the cell wall of Myco-bacteriuir smegmatis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 69, 851 (1972). 

The present review focuses on the immune enhancing potential of saponins with mainly immunoadjuvant and immunostimulating properties. 

---