Definition and research guide
This page combines a MeSH definition, publication statistics and selected research abstracts. It is a starting point for reading the literature, not a medical textbook or a systematic evidence review.
Content available: 3 complete abstracts (477 words), 9 references. Full article text is not stored or reproduced here; follow the PMID, DOI or PMC links to read the original sources and their access terms.
Definition
Polysaccharides composed of repeating glucose units. They can consist of branched or unbranched chains in any linkages.
Definition: NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) scope note (Public domain (U.S. National Library of Medicine); attribution requested). View the MeSH record.
Also known as: Polyglucose; Glucan; Polyglucoses; Glucose Polymer; Polymer, Glucose; Glucan (BO); Polycose.
Where it fits in the MeSH classification
Research landscape
PubMed indexes 220,466 records tagged with the MeSH heading “Glucans” (counts retrieved 2026-10-31). 52,408 of them (23.8%) were published from 2020 onward, and the busiest period so far is through 1999 with 75,720 records.
Reviews account for 11,271 records (5.1%) and meta-analyses for 328. Randomized controlled trials number 3,936 (1.8%) as a share of all records on the topic. Randomized trials make up only a small share of this literature, so much of what is known comes from laboratory, observational or descriptive work.
Show the data
| Period | Records |
|---|---|
| through 1999 | 75,720 |
| 2000-2009 | 34,473 |
| 2010-2019 | 57,865 |
| 2020 onward | 52,408 |
Publication-type chart data
| Type | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Reviews | 11,271 | 5.1% |
| Meta-analyses | 328 | 0.1% |
| Randomized controlled trials | 3,936 | 1.8% |
Method: PubMed query "Glucans"[MeSH Terms] with publication-type and date filters, retrieved 2026-10-31.
Reading the evidence in drugs and chemicals
Studies of a chemical or drug can answer very different questions: what it is and how it behaves in cells and animals, how the body handles it, and whether it changes outcomes in people. Laboratory and animal findings often do not carry over to patients, and observational studies of exposures are confounded by who uses a substance and why. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to use, avoid, start or stop any substance or medicine; talk to a qualified clinician or pharmacist about your own situation. Check the dose, the species, the comparison group and whether a patient-relevant outcome was measured.
Evidence from open-access studies
These open-access studies come from PubMed’s best-match results for this heading (papers whose main topic it is), ranked here by citation count, with one recent addition. Each abstract is reproduced in full under its recorded open licence so that you can read the authors’ own words. They illustrate the literature; they are not a systematic summary of it. Citation counts measure attention, not reliability or clinical benefit.
| Study / authors | Year | Source label / design | Europe PMC citations | Licence / source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost-Effective Solid-State NMR Of Fungal Glucans: A Case Study On Schizosaccharomyces pombe | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 5 | cc by PMID 42068117 · DOI · PMC13380364 |
| Beta-Glucan modulates monocyte plasticity and differentiation capacity to mitigate DSS-induced colitis | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 2 | cc by PMID 42220316 · DOI · PMC13225843 |
| A STRUBBELIG-NHL3 cell surface receptor complex mediates the response to cellulose deficiency in Arabidopsis | 2026 | Research article Design not recorded in structured metadata | 1 | cc by PMID 42601502 · DOI · PMC13481253 |
Cost-Effective Solid-State NMR Of Fungal Glucans: A Case Study On Schizosaccharomyces pombe [1]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Solid-state NMR provides molecular-level insights into fungal cell walls, but full 13C-enrichment is costly and limits biological replication.
- Closing excerpt
- Together, these results establish low-level 13C labeling as a cost-effective strategy for fungal solid-state NMR and highlight the complementary strengths of whole cell and extracted wall-level analysis in uncovering how the effect of elevated temperature is encoded in cell wall architecture.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (132 words)
Solid-state NMR provides molecular-level insights into fungal cell walls, but full 13C-enrichment is costly and limits biological replication. Here, we show that 10% 13C-glucose labeling in Schizosaccharomyces pombe is sufficient to resolve the major carbohydrate resonances and quantify glucan composition with high reproducibility. We then examined cell wall composition at two temperatures, both in whole cells and in extracted wall fractions. Interestingly, whole cell spectra indicated minor, nonsignificant changes with temperature, while extracted walls revealed differences between the rigid glucan matrices with β-1,3-glucan especially enriched at 36 ∘C$^{\circ }{\rm C}$ . Together, these results establish low-level 13C labeling as a cost-effective strategy for fungal solid-state NMR and highlight the complementary strengths of whole cell and extracted wall-level analysis in uncovering how the effect of elevated temperature is encoded in cell wall architecture.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42068117 · DOI · PMC13380364
Beta-Glucan modulates monocyte plasticity and differentiation capacity to mitigate DSS-induced colitis [2]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Trained immunity involves the reprogramming of innate immune cells after an initial exposure, resulting in heightened inflammatory responses to subsequent stimuli and enhanced bactericidal capacity during infection.
- Closing excerpt
- Collectively, these findings reveal how β-glucan-induced trained immunity modulates monocyte differentiation to ameliorate experimental colitis, highlighting the potential of harnessing trained immunity as a therapeutic strategy to recalibrate innate immune responses and restore gut homeostasis in IBD, shedding light for future clinical applications.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (197 words)
Trained immunity involves the reprogramming of innate immune cells after an initial exposure, resulting in heightened inflammatory responses to subsequent stimuli and enhanced bactericidal capacity during infection. However, this pro-inflammatory state could also exacerbate chronic conditions like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which is characterized by persistent inflammation and microbial imbalance. It remains unclear how trained immunity influences IBD pathogenesis and whether it can be harnessed therapeutically. In our study, pretreatment with β-glucan reprogrammed bone marrow hematopoietic progenitors and peripheral monocytes, inducing a profound shift in monocyte plasticity and significantly reducing the severity of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis. Adoptive transfer of bone marrow or peripheral monocytes from β-glucan-trained mice into naive mice conferred robust protection against colitis, demonstrating that this protective effect is transferable. Trained mice also displayed improved clearance of intestinal bacterial infections. Single-cell RNA sequencing revealed an expansion of reparative Cx3cr1+ macrophages derived from Ly6Chi monocytes, correlating with accelerated colonic epithelial regeneration. Collectively, these findings reveal how β-glucan-induced trained immunity modulates monocyte differentiation to ameliorate experimental colitis, highlighting the potential of harnessing trained immunity as a therapeutic strategy to recalibrate innate immune responses and restore gut homeostasis in IBD, shedding light for future clinical applications.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42220316 · DOI · PMC13225843
A STRUBBELIG-NHL3 cell surface receptor complex mediates the response to cellulose deficiency in Arabidopsis [3]
Abstract reading summary — source excerpts
- Opening excerpt
- Plant cells are enclosed by a semi-rigid cell wall with a complex biochemical composition and architecture.
- Closing excerpt
- Our results further suggest a diverse set of biochemically and functionally distinct SUB complexes involved in regulating cell wall integrity and development.
- Interpretation limits
- Verbatim excerpts from the authors’ abstract; the closing excerpt may describe a finding, limitation or recommendation. Design, population, effect size and uncertainty have not been independently extracted or appraised. Read the complete abstract and linked paper before interpreting the findings.
Read complete abstract (148 words)
Plant cells are enclosed by a semi-rigid cell wall with a complex biochemical composition and architecture. The poorly understood process of remodelling the cell wall is crucial for controlling growth and development and for regulating abiotic and biotic stress responses. Cell wall remodelling upon disruption of cell wall integrity through inhibition of cellulose biosynthesis depends on the receptor kinase STRUBBELIG (SUB) and its binding partner QUIRKY (QKY). Here, we identify NON-RACE SPECIFIC DISEASE RESISTANCE/HIN1 HAIRPIN-INDUCED-LIKE protein 3 (NHL3) as an additional factor involved in the SUB-dependent cellulose biosynthesis inhibition response. Collectively, our data indicate that NHL3 maintains SUB at the plasma membrane by physically interacting with SUB. SUB signalling is attenuated by receptor-mediated endocytosis initiated by release of first the SUB-NHL3 and later the SUB-QKY interaction. Our results further suggest a diverse set of biochemically and functionally distinct SUB complexes involved in regulating cell wall integrity and development.
Abstract reproduced from the open-access article under the recorded cc by licence; © the authors. PMID 42601502 · DOI · PMC13481253
Key reviews and meta-analyses
The most cited review-type papers among PubMed’s best-match results for this heading, listed with bibliographic details only. Follow the links for the full text and access terms.
- Research article Association of hydroxyethyl starch administration with mortality and acute kidney injury in critically ill patients requiring volume resuscitation: a systematic review and meta-analysis [4]
- Research article β-D-glucan assay for the diagnosis of invasive fungal infections: a meta-analysis [5]
- Research article Cholesterol-lowering effects of oat β-glucan: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials [6]
- Research article Diagnostic accuracy of serum 1,3-β-D-glucan for pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia, invasive candidiasis, and invasive aspergillosis: systematic review and meta-analysis [7]
- Research article β-Glucan antigenemia assay for the diagnosis of invasive fungal infections in patients with hematological malignancies: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies from the Third European Conference on Infections in Leukemia (ECIL-3) [8]
- Research article Hydroxyethyl starch 130/0.38-0.45 versus crystalloid or albumin in patients with sepsis: systematic review with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis [9]
References
- Singh A, Massam-Wu T, Balasubramanian M, Chow WY. Cost-Effective Solid-State NMR Of Fungal Glucans: A Case Study On Schizosaccharomyces pombe. . 2026. PMID 42068117 · DOI · PMC13380364
- Lv Y, Fan Y, Gao Q, Chen Q, Hu Y, Wang L, et al.. Beta-Glucan modulates monocyte plasticity and differentiation capacity to mitigate DSS-induced colitis. . 2026. PMID 42220316 · DOI · PMC13225843
- Boikine R, Chaudhary A, Mergner J, Leicher H, Stegmann M, Kuster B, et al.. A STRUBBELIG-NHL3 cell surface receptor complex mediates the response to cellulose deficiency in Arabidopsis. . 2026. PMID 42601502 · DOI · PMC13481253
- Zarychanski R, Abou-Setta AM, Turgeon AF, Houston BL, McIntyre L, Marshall JC, et al.. Association of hydroxyethyl starch administration with mortality and acute kidney injury in critically ill patients requiring volume resuscitation: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA. 2013. PMID 23423413 · DOI
- Karageorgopoulos DE, Vouloumanou EK, Ntziora F, Michalopoulos A, Rafailidis PI, Falagas ME. β-D-glucan assay for the diagnosis of invasive fungal infections: a meta-analysis. Clin Infect Dis. 2011. PMID 21367728 · DOI
- Whitehead A, Beck EJ, Tosh S, Wolever TM. Cholesterol-lowering effects of oat β-glucan: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Am J Clin Nutr. 2014. PMID 25411276 · DOI · PMC5394769
- Onishi A, Sugiyama D, Kogata Y, Saegusa J, Sugimoto T, Kawano S, et al.. Diagnostic accuracy of serum 1,3-β-D-glucan for pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia, invasive candidiasis, and invasive aspergillosis: systematic review and meta-analysis. J Clin Microbiol. 2012. PMID 22075593 · DOI · PMC3256688
- Lamoth F, Cruciani M, Mengoli C, Castagnola E, Lortholary O, Richardson M, et al.. β-Glucan antigenemia assay for the diagnosis of invasive fungal infections in patients with hematological malignancies: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies from the Third European Conference on Infections in Leukemia (ECIL-3). Clin Infect Dis. 2012. PMID 22198786 · DOI
- Haase N, Perner A, Hennings LI, Siegemund M, Lauridsen B, Wetterslev M, et al.. Hydroxyethyl starch 130/0.38-0.45 versus crystalloid or albumin in patients with sepsis: systematic review with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis. BMJ. 2013. PMID 23418281 · DOI · PMC3573769
About this article
- Sources
- NLM Medical Subject Headings (definition, synonyms); NCBI PubMed (counts, identifiers); Europe PMC (open-access abstracts and citation counts).
- Verification
- Every reference was resolved against PubMed on 2026-10-31; title, year and DOI matched.
- Review state
- automated source verified; no human expert review has been recorded yet.
- Version
- 1, last updated 2026-10-31.
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Evidence strength
EvidenceHelix's computed view of the study designs behind this topic: how common meta-analyses, randomized trials and reviews are, how recent the literature is, and a plain-language reading. It describes the design mix of the literature. It is not a quality appraisal of any study, and it is not medical advice.