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International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms

ISSN for PRINT: 1521-9437

Institutional price:	$538.00
Issues per year:	4

Best Paper Award Selection - Editorial Board Site

2006, Volume8

98 pages

DOI: 10.1615/IntJMedMushr.v8.i1

Issue price - $138.00

Effect of Grifola frondosa (Dicks.:Fr.) S.F.Gray (Maitake Mushroom) Aqueous Extract on Nitric Oxide Production Induced by BCG and Cytokines in Rat Hepatocytes

Dong Cao
Department of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing University, Beijing 100083, P. R. China

Guo-Liang Zhang
Department of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing University, Beijing 100083, P. R. China

Wei Ni
Department of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing University, Beijing 100083, P. R. China

Hui-Ling Teng
Department of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing University, Beijing 100083, P. R. China

Zhi-Bin Lin
Department of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing University, Beijing 100083, P. R. China

ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT: To examine the effect of the Grifola frondosa (maitake mushroom) aqueous extract (MAE) on nitric oxide (NO) production induced by BCG pretreatment in vivo plus cytokines mixture (CM) stimulating conditions in vitro in primary cultured rat hepatocytes. NO accumulations were induced by BCG pretreatment (125 mg kg⁻¹, 2 weeks, i.v.) in vivo or by BCG plus cytokine mixture (CM, including TNF-α, IL-1β, IFN-γ, and LPS) stimulating a in culture medium in vitro. NO production in the cultured supernatant was determined by the Griess reaction. Application of MAE alone did not show marked effects on NO production (P > 0.05) in cultured hepatocytes, even though it was administered after 48 hr and at higher concentrations (800 mg L⁻¹). Under the presence of BCG or/and CM conditions, NO production was significantly increased by MAE at 400 mg L⁻¹ ∼ 800 mg L⁻¹ concentrations (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01, respectively) as the time-dependent manner in culture supernatant. But in similar BCG plus CM stimulating conditions, administration of MAE inhibited NO production at a range of lower concentrations (from 50 mg L⁻¹ to 200 mg L⁻¹, P < 0.05). On the other hand, both aminoguanidine and actinomycin D (ActD), which are inhibitors of selective iNOS enzyme activity and iNOS mRNA transcription, significantly inhibited BCG plus CM-induced NO production in rat hepatocytes (P < 0.05). The results of the present study not only further support the possibility that MAE might be an immunomodulating agent, but also confirm the immune effective mechanism of MAE by regulating NO production both in vivo and in vitro.