Mistletoe in immunology and the clinic (short review)

The recent meeting of the AGMIF (Working Group for Mistletoe Therapy and Immunological Research) held in Herdecke, Germany, on October, 3rd, 1997, covered recent developments in the field of immunological and biological properties of Viscum album L., the European mistletoe, which is used for adjuvant cancer treatment. So far, one extract component, the mistletoe lectin (ML)-1, was propagated by some researchers to be the only relevant substance within the extracts. However, immunological activities of other extract components such as polysaccharides, vesicles, chitin-binding lectin and their interactions discussed in the first part, underline the significance of the other components as well. In the second part, clinical evidence for the beneficial effects of subcutaneous and intratumoral application of mistletoe therapy was presented by different working groups. However, further research is of great importance to carefully analyse and characterize the involved molecules and exact mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects reported in this meeting.