Zymosan is a cheap and easily available polymer found in yeast cell walls that binds to Toll-Like Receptor 2, inducing an inflammatory response. It is used to study arthritis and similar conditions in a controlled environment and can affect the entire body when combined with galactosamine.
A zymosan is a polymerized chain of repeating glucose molecules that link together at the beta-1,3 sites of each individual sugar unit. It is found in the cell walls of yeast, including Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the yeast commonly used in baking. Yeast is found in abundance in nature and replicates easily in warm, sugary environments. This polymer is very easy to grow and harvest, so it is cheaply available and is often used as a reagent in scientific studies.
Because this yeast cell wall ingredient binds to the Toll-Like Receptor 2 (TLR2), it can induce an inflammatory response. Toll-like receptors are associated with immune responses in mammalian animals. In many scientific studies, zymosan is used to induce inflammatory responses without introducing bacteria or other inflammation-causing pathogens that may escape the control of the experimenter. By injecting cartilaginous interstitial spaces into the joints of research animals, inflammatory responses can be induced in a sterile environment. This induced symptom closely resembles the reaction often observed by physicians and scientists studying arthritic conditions, making these injections an invaluable tool in studies aimed at treating arthritis and similar conditions.
The inflammatory response due to exposure to zymosan is caused by the excitation and activation of enzyme secretion from macrophages, a small portion of the immune response pathway. This type of inflammatory response is known as “zymosan-induced inflammation”. Since scientists are often interested in addressing a disease in its myriad of symptoms, the fact that this constituent can induce other associated conditions beyond simple inflammation of synovial tissue and secretion of enzymes from macrophages also helps experimenters address disease conditions. . Protein phosphorylation and inositol phosphate formation are two other effects of zymosan-induced inflammation, both often associated with arthritis and inflammatory responses.
Liver damage can also occur after exposure to an injection of this model of arthritis induction when combined with galactosamine. This type of damage indicates that zymosan affects cells other than macrophages. Unlike the induction of an inflammatory response in a single joint, this far-reaching reaction in response to the combination of zymosan and galactosamine shows that exposure to zymosan can affect the entire body.
By reconstituting lyophilized zymosan and injecting it into joints where synovial tissue is present, an artificial working model for arthritis and inflammation due to repetitive injury is mimicked, allowing scientists to study these and similar conditions in a controlled environment. The fact that these responses can be controlled in terms of severity and location makes this technique a relevant model for studying diseases that cause an immune response in synovial tissue and joints.
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