A technique for screening immune-enhancing polysaccharides in food using the phagocytotic activityof 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (VD3)-differentiated HL60 cells is presented. HL60 cells, a human acutepromyelocytic cell line, can differentiate along the monocytic lineage following exposure to VD3 orphorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA). For differentiated cells along the monocytic pathway, HL60cells were maintained in
RPMI 1640 medium supplemented with 10% FBS and 120 nM VD3 formore than 1 week. VD3-differentiated HL60 cells were seeded into 48-well plates, YG-labeledmicrospheres and polysaccharides were added and mixed using a plate shaker at 1100 rpm for 30s, and then the mixture was incubated overnight at 37
C in 5% CO
2. The cells were fixed with 2%formaldehyde and resuspended in phosphate-buffered saline. The rate of phagocytosis was measuredwith a flow cytometer. VD3-differentiated cells but not non- and PMA-differentiated cells resulted inan elevation of phagocytic activity by various immune-enhancing polysaccharides in foods.