{
  "abstract": "Coix lacryma-jobi var. mayuen seed extract, also known as yokuinin, is a traditional Chinese medicine that has been used to treat warts, chapped skin, rheumatism, and inflammatory diseases. Coix seed water-soluble extracts (CEs) have anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, anti-tumor, analgesic, blood sugar-lowering, and immunomodulatory effects. However, the molecular mechanism by which CEs exert their immunomodulatory effects remains largely unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that CEs regulate cytokine production in bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs), bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs), and RAW264.7 cells. We analyzed the levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) in culture media collected from untreated and CEs-treated BMDMs, BMDCs, and RAW264.7 cells. We found that CEs-induced TNF-α and IL-6 production significantly increased in a dose-dependent manner. Coix seed polysaccharides (CSPs), which are abundant in CEs, induce the production of TNF-α and IL-6 in macrophages via the nuclear factor kappa B and mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways. Furthermore, CEs- and CSPs-mediated cytokine production were significantly lower in BMDMs from Toll-like receptor 2 knockout (TLR2–/–) and myeloid differentiation factor 2 knockout (MD-2–/–) mice than in those from wild-type mice. These results suggest that CSPs act as immunostimulatory factors via TLR2 and TLR4/MD-2 in macrophages.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 8,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Susumu TOMONO"
    },
    {
      "name": "Yinzhi LIN"
    },
    {
      "name": "Hidehiro ANDO"
    },
    {
      "name": "Masaaki YOSHIDA"
    },
    {
      "name": "Ryutaro FUKUI"
    },
    {
      "name": "Masanori INUI"
    },
    {
      "name": "Daisuke WATANABE"
    },
    {
      "name": "Sachiko AKASHI-TAKAMURA"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6f796p61rm660.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.12938/bmfh.2025-079",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/bmfh/advpub/0/advpub_2025-079/_article",
  "id": "6f796p61rm660",
  "issns": [
    "2186-3342"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/bmfh/advpub/0/advpub_2025-079/_article",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "jstage-journal",
      "biology/microbiology"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2403|Immune Response and Inflammation"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223063227",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/bmfh/advpub/0/advpub_2025-079/_pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-21",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6f796p61rm660.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:35Z",
      "native_id": "10.12938/bmfh.2025-079",
      "source": "jstage",
      "url": "https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/bmfh/advpub/0/advpub_2025-079/_article"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "openalex:2403|Immune Response and Inflammation",
      "subfield": "immunology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Immunostimulatory effects of polysaccharides from Coix lacryma-jobi var. mayuen seed water-soluble extracts on immune cells via the TLR2/4-MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathway",
  "title_text": "Immunostimulatory effects of polysaccharides from Coix lacryma-jobi var. mayuen seed water-soluble extracts on immune cells via the TLR2/4-MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathway",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:35Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6f796p61rm660",
  "venue": "Bioscience of Microbiota, Food and Health",
  "versions": []
}