Abstract
[ ${\beta}-Glucan$ ] is a glucose polymer that has linkage of ${\beta}-(1,3)$, -(1,4) and -(1,6). As exclusively found in fungal and bacterial cell wall, not in animal, ${\beta}-glucans$ are recognized by innate immune system. Dendritic cells (DC) or macrophages possesses pattern recognition molecule (PRM) for binding ${\beta}-glucans$ as pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP). Recently ${\beta}-glucans$ receptor was cloned from DC and named as dectin-l which belongs to type II C-type lectin family. Human dectin-l is consisted of 7 exons and 6 introns. The polypeptide of dectin-l has 247 amino acids and has cytoplasmic, transmembrane, stalk and carbohydrate recognition domains. Dectin-l could recognize variety of beta-l,3 and/or beta-l,6 glucan linkages, but not alpha-glucans. In our macrophage cell line culture system, dectin-l mRNA was detected in RA W264.7 cells by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Dectin-l was also detected in the murine organs of spleen, thymus, lung and intestines. Treatment of RA W264.7 cells with ${\beta}-glucans$ of Ganoderma lucidum (GLG) resulted in increased expression of IL-6 and $TNF-{\alpha}$ in the presence of LPS. However, GLG alone did not increase IL-6 nor $TNF-{\alpha}$ These results suggest that receptor dectin-l cooperate with CD14 to activate signal transduction that is very critical in immunoresponse.