The (1→6)-β-Glucan Moiety Represents a Cross-Reactive Epitope of Infection-Induced Malignancy Surveillance

Exposure to pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) by vaccination or infection is known to have beneficial effects on neoplastic diseases, although the underlying molecular mechanisms are so far unclear. In this article, we report that Abs against (1→6)-β-d-glucan, a typical microbial PAMP and a major target for high titer circulating natural Abs in healthy human subjects, cross-recognize a novel tumor-associated carbohydrate Ag on cancer cells. The (1→6)-β-glucan cross-reactive moiety is immunologically dominant in tumor cells, as C57BL/6 mice harboring EL-4 solid tumors produced anti-(1→6)-β-glucan Abs and the titer of which significantly correlated with enhanced survival and smaller tumor burden. Moreover, the (1→6)-β-glucan-specific Abs exhibited potent tumoricidal activities in vitro. C57BL/6 mice immunized with Candida albicans produced protective immunity against inoculated EL-4 tumors, which was attributed to the formation of (1→6)-β-glucan-specific Abs. Importantly, (1→6)-β-glucan-specific Abs significantly prolonged the survival and reduced the tumor size in mice inoculated with EL-4 tumors. Our results demonstrate that the (1→6)-β-glucan cross-reactive moiety represents a focal point between infection immunity and cancer surveillance, and natural Abs against this epitope may contribute to the first-line antitumor surveillance in humans. Our data also provide important explanation for the long-observed relationship between feverish infection and concurrent remission from cancer.