ISSN: 1449-2288International Journal of Biological Sciences
Global reach, higher impact
Int J Biol Sci 2018; 14(10):1378-1388. doi:10.7150/ijbs.24564 This issue Cite
Research Paper
Antrodia cinnamomea Galactomannan Elicits Immuno-stimulatory Activity Through Toll-like Receptor 4
1. Institute of Biological Chemistry, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
2. Chemical Biology and Molecular Biophysics Program, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
3. Department of Chemistry and Institute of Biochemical Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taiwan
4. Department of Chemistry, National Tsing-Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
5. Faculty of Applied Sciences, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka
6. Department of Biotechnology and Animal Science, National Ilan University, Ilan, Taiwan
7. Department of Laboratory Medicine, Linsen, Chinese Medicine and Kunming Branch, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
8. Department of Pathology, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan
9. Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
Namal Perera, Feng-Ling Yang: equal contribution
Abstract
Antrodia cinnamomea (A. cinnamomea) is a medicinal fungus used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat different kinds of ailments, including liver diseases, abdominal pain, drug intoxication, diarrhea, itchy skin, hypertension, and cancer. Polysaccharides have been identified as one of the major pharmacologically active ingredients present in A. cinnamomea. The present study aims to investigate the immunoenhancing activity of galactomannan isolated from A. cinnamomea. The cold water-soluble polysaccharide (galactomannan-repeated; MW>70 kDa; named ACP) of A. cinnamomea was isolated, and immunostimulatory properties were studied through different immune cell models including mouse macrophages and human dendritic cells. Through Toll-like receptor 4, ACP stimulated tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in J774A.1 mouse macrophages, mouse peritoneal macrophages and human dendritic cells. It was further identified that ACP elicited its immunostimulatory activity through protein kinase C-α (PKC-α) and mitogen activated protein kinases (MAPK) phosphorylation. Furthermore, ACP exerted the endotoxin tolerance-like effect through NF-κB inhibition. These findings demonstrate the potential of A. cinnamomea galactomannan as an immunostimulator or an adjuvant in immunotherapy and vaccination.
Keywords: Antrodia cinnamomea, galactomannan, macrophages, dendritic cells, immunostimulation
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