Difficulties and perspectives of immunomodulatory therapy with mistletoe lectins and standardized mistletoe extracts in evidence based medicine

Aqueous extracts of the mistletoe plant (ME) have been used for a long time as complementary medicine with immunomodulatory effects in tumor therapy. However, the immunological efficacy of various ME preparations can differ considerably from each other. The immunomodulatory effect of ME therapy is based on lectin – sugar interactions in the cell membrane of the innate immune system. A selective binding of mistletoe lectins (ML) on CD75 ganglioside receptors of IL-12 producing macrophages and dendritic cells can play an important role as well. The positive effects of ME on immune system correlate with the lectin…