International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms

ISSN for PRINT: 1521-9437

For Online Access

Best Paper Award Selection - Editorial Board Site

2003, Volume5

Issue 4

92 pages

DOI: 10.1615/InterJMedicMush.v5.i4

Issue price - $128.00

Masashi Mizuno
Faculty of Agriculture, Kobe University; and Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kobe University, Nada-ku, Kobe 657-8501, Japan

Sachiko Kawakami
Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan

Nobuhide Fujitake
Faculty of Agriculture, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan

Royal Sun Agaricus—Agaricus brasiliensis—has traditionally and medically been used as a health food for the prevention of cancer. We chromatographically purified an immunomodulating compound from a water-soluble fraction of A. brasiliensis. The molecular weight of this compound was determined as approximately 6200 by gel permeation chromatography. This compound enhanced the production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a and nitric oxide (NO) from a murine macrophage-like cell line, RAW264.7. The result of time-course experiments on TNF-a and NO production from RAW264.7 indicated that TNF-a production was produced at least 6 hours earlier than NO production. The expression of interleukin (IL)-12 (a key role in Th1 differentiation) and IL-18 (a proinflammatory cytokine in enhancing Th1 immune response) mRNA in RAW264.7 was investigated by RT-PCR. Both mRNAs were induced 24 hours after stimulation. In conclusion, autocrine TNF-a production caused NO production from macrophage stimulated by the immunomodulating compound from A. brasiliensis. In addition, this compound might activate Th1 immune response because it increased the level of IL-12 and 18 mRNA expressions in macrophages.

DOI: 10.1615/InterJMedicMush.v5.i4.50 Download article, 8 pages

Article price - $35.00

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