GcMAF (or Gc protein-derived macrophage activating factor) is a protein produced by modification of

vitamin D-binding protein Vitamin D-binding protein (DBP), also/originally known as gc-globulin (group-specific component), is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''GC'' gene. DBP is genetically the oldest member of the albuminoid family and appeared early in the ev ...

. It has been falsely promoted as a treatment for various medical conditions, but claims of its benefits are not supported by evidence. Biochemically, GcMAF results from sequential deglycosylation of the

(the Gc protein), which is naturally promoted by

lymphocyte A lymphocyte is a type of white blood cell (leukocyte) in the immune system of most vertebrates. Lymphocytes include T cells (for cell-mediated and cytotoxic adaptive immunity), B cells (for humoral, antibody-driven adaptive immunity), an ...

s ( B and T cells). The resulting protein may be a

macrophage activating factor A macrophage-activating factor (MAF) is a lymphokine or other receptor based signal that primes macrophages towards cytotoxicity to tumors, cytokine secretion, or clearance of pathogens. Similar molecules may cause development of an inhibitory, re ...

(MAF). MAFs are

lymphokine Lymphokines are a subset of cytokines that are produced by a type of immune cell known as a lymphocyte. They are protein mediators typically produced by T cells to direct the immune system response by signaling between its cells. Lymphokines have ...

s that control the expression of

antigen In immunology, an antigen (Ag) is a molecule, moiety, foreign particulate matter, or an allergen, such as pollen, that can bind to a specific antibody or T-cell receptor. The presence of antigens in the body may trigger an immune response. ...

s on the surface of

macrophages Macrophages (; abbreviated MPhi, φ, MΦ or MP) are a type of white blood cell of the innate immune system that engulf and digest pathogens, such as cancer cells, microbes, cellular debris and foreign substances, which do not have proteins that ...

, and one of their functions is to make macrophages become

cytotoxic Cytotoxicity is the quality of being toxic to cells. Examples of toxic agents are toxic metals, toxic chemicals, microbe neurotoxins, radiation particles and even specific neurotransmitters when the system is out of balance. Also some types of dr ...

tumor A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...

False claims

Since around 2008, GcMAF has been promoted as a cure for cancer, HIV, autism and other conditions. Three out of four of the original studies authored by Yamamoto (published between 2007 and 2009) were retracted by the scientific journals in which they were published in 2014, officially due to irregularities in the way ethical approval was granted. Retraction reasons also included methodological errors in the studies. The integrity of the research, conducted by Nobuto Yamamoto and colleagues, that originally prompted claims regarding cancer and HIV has been questioned. The UK

Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care in the United Kingdom which is responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work and are accepta ...

and

Cancer Research UK Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organisation. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...

has warned the public about spurious claims of clinical benefits, misleadingly based on reduced levels of the alpha-N-acetylgalactosaminidase enzyme (also known as nagalase), whose production might be increased in many cancers. In 2014 the Belgian Anticancer Fund communicated serious concerns about published studies on GcMAF by Yamamoto and colleagues. In 2015 the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) closed a factory in Milton, Cambridgeshire owned by David Noakes' company Immuno Biotech that manufactured GcMAF for cancer treatment. In September 2018 Noakes pleaded guilty in UK to manufacturing a medicinal product without a manufacturer's licence, selling or supplying medicinal products without market authorisation, and money laundering, and sentenced to 15 months of jail. In April 2021 Noakes pleaded guilty in France to manufacturing and selling fake medicinal products and cosmetics by Internet and sentenced to 4 years of jail. A 2019

Business Insider ''Business Insider'' (stylized in all caps: BUSINESS INSIDER; known from 2021 to 2023 as INSIDER) is a New York City–based multinational financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Inside ...

report detailed the activities of Amanda Mary Jewell, who sold GcMAF for years as a(n unlicensed) cure for several medical conditions, including cancer and

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

. Jewell is not a

medical doctor A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the study, diagnosis, prognosis ...

First Generation GcMAF

''Gc protein-derived macrophage-activating factor (GcMAF).'' GcMAF initially conceptualized by Nobuto Yamamoto in 1991, has been researched as a possible

cancer treatment Cancer treatments are a wide range of treatments available for the many different types of cancer, with each cancer type needing its own specific treatment. Treatments can include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hormonal therapy, targ ...

. Previous research efforts involved the isolation of Gc protein (1f1f subtype) from human serum through an affinity column modified with ''25-hydroxyvitamin D3.'' GcMAF was enzymatically derived from the isolated Gc protein.

New Generation of GcMAF from Japan

The 2nd and 3rd generation GcMAF were developed by the Japanese organizations which hold the patents: in the USA (2014, 2016, 2017), Japan (2015), the EU (2016), Australia (2016), Israel (2018).

References

{{Unproven and disproven cancer treatments Alternative cancer treatments Cytokines Human proteins Vitamin D Health fraud products

False claims

First Generation GcMAF

New Generation of GcMAF from Japan

See also

References