Immunomodulatory effect of Antrodia camphorata mycelia and culture filtrate

• Published in: Journal of ethnopharmacology 2008-11, Vol.120 (2), p.196-203
• Main Authors: Kuo, Mei-Chun, Chang, Chien-Yu, Cheng, Tso-Lin, Wu, Ming-Jiuan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adenosine; Adenosine - administration & dosage; Adenosine - immunology; Adenosine - isolation & purification; Adult; antigens; Antrodia - chemistry; Antrodia camphorata; biomarkers; CD11b; CD11b Antigen - drug effects; CD11b Antigen - immunology; chemical composition; Chromatography, Gel; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Culture Media; cultured cells; dose response; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Escherichia coli; Hot Temperature; Humans; IL-6; immunity; Immunologic Factors - administration & dosage; Immunologic Factors - immunology; Immunologic Factors - isolation & purification; immunomodulators; interleukin-6; Interleukin-6 - metabolism; medicinal plants; Medicine, Chinese Traditional; monocytes; mushrooms; mycelium; Mycelium - chemistry; neoplasms; neutrophils; Neutrophils - immunology; Oriental traditional medicine; Phagocytosis; Phagocytosis - drug effects; plant extracts; Polyporales; polysaccharides; Polysaccharides - administration & dosage; Polysaccharides - immunology; Polysaccharides - isolation & purification; Taiwan; TNF-α; tumor necrosis factor-alpha; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - drug effects; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - metabolism; Up-Regulation - drug effects
• ISSN: 0378-8741; 1872-7573
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2008.08.011

Antrodia camphorata, a precious folkloric medicinal mushroom, has been used to treat tumorigenic diseases in Taiwan. This study was to investigate the innate immunity augmentation effects of different fractions prepared from hot water extracts of submerged cultured Antrodia camphorata (AC). The cytokine induction potency of AC fraction in diluted peripheral blood culture was measured by ELISA. The effects of AC fraction on phagocytic activity and CD11b expression were measured by the ingestion of FITC-labeled Escherichia coli and by labeling with PE-labeled CD11b monoclonal antibody, respectively, using flow cytometry. The molecular mass of hot water-soluble polysaccharides and content of adenosine in AC fraction were determined by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and HPLC, respectively. The mycelia fraction, Fr. M II, and culture filtrate fractions, Fr. E II and Fr. E III, showed the strongest TNF-α and IL-6 induction effect as a function of their concentration. These fractions (20 μg/ml) also showed marked activity in enhancing phagocytosis in human polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) and monocytes. In parallel, the expression of CD11b, an early marker of PMN activation, was also up-regulated dose-dependently. Composition analysis suggested that immunomodulatory effect of mycelia is mainly attributed to the 10–20 kDa polysaccharides and adenosine. These results provide evidences that Antrodia camphorata can modulate innate immunity and may serve as an adjuvant for tumor treatment.