TY - JOUR T1 - β-Galactosidase Treatment Is a Common First-stage Modification of the Three Major Subtypes of Gc Protein to GcMAF JF - Anticancer Research JO - Anticancer Res SP - 2359 LP - 2364 VL - 32 IS - 6 AU - YOSHIHIRO UTO AU - SYOTA YAMAMOTO AU - HIROTAKA MUKAI AU - NORIKO ISHIYAMA AU - RYOTA TAKEUCHI AU - YOSHINORI NAKAGAWA AU - KEIJI HIROTA AU - HIROSHI TERADA AU - SHINYA ONIZUKA AU - HITOSHI HORI Y1 - 2012/06/01 UR - http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/32/6/2359.abstract N2 - Background: The 1f1f subtype of the group-specific component (Gc) protein is converted into Gc protein-derived macrophage-activating factor (GcMAF) by enzymatic processing with β-galactosidase and sialidase. We previously demonstrated that preGc1f1fMAF, a full Gc1f1f protein otherwise lacking a galactosyl moiety, can be converted to GcMAF by treatment with mouse peritoneal fluid. Here, we investigated the effects of the β-galactosidase-treated 1s1s and 22 subtypes of Gc protein (preGc1s1sMAF and preGc22MAF) on the phagocytic activation of mouse peritoneal macrophages. Results: We demonstrated the presence of Gal-GalNAc disaccharide sugar structures in the Gc1s1s protein by western blotting using peanut agglutinin and Helix pomatia agglutinin lectin. We also found that preGc1s1sMAF and preGc22MAF significantly enhanced the phagocytic activity of mouse peritoneal macrophages in the presence and absence of mouse peritoneal fluid. Conclusion: We demonstrate that preGc1s1sMAF and preGc22MAF proteins can be used as effective macrophage activators. ER -