K. Motoki et al., EFFECTS OF ALPHA-GALACTOSYLCERAMIDES ON BONE-MARROW CELLS IN-VITRO AND HEMATOPOIESIS IN-VIVO, Biological & pharmaceutical bulletin, 19(7), 1996, pp. 952-955
We found that AGL-517, an alpha-galactosylceramide (alpha-GalCer), pos
sesses potent radioprotective activities against mice irradiated with
9 Gy of S-ray in contrast to its having no effect on mice irradiated w
ith 10 Gy of X-ray. The result suggested the possibility that alpha-Ga
lCers protect mice from hone marrow death. To examine this possibility
, we examined the effects of two kinds of alpha- and beta-GalCers on c
ounts of platelets (PLT) and white blood cells (WBC) in the peripheral
blood of normal mice and mice irradiated in a whole body with 5 Gy of
X-ray, alpha-GalCers significantly increased the PLT and WBC counts o
f both mice in comparison with the vehicle-treated group, and their po
tencies were stronger than those of their beta-types, Furthermore, we
evaluated the in vitro hone marrow cell-proliferation stimulatory acti
vities of four kinds of GalCers, and found that alpha-GalCers show str
anger stimulatory effects than beta-types. These results demonstrate t
hat the alpha-configuration of GalCers plays an important role in the
manifestation of the above-mentioned activities of GalCers, The result
s also suggest that alpha-GalCers mag be useful as hematopoietic stimu
lators as well as radioprotective agents.