title: Study of macrophage activation and structural characteristics of purified polysaccharides from the fruiting body of Hericium erinaceus.
abstract: Most, if not all, Basidiomycetes mushrooms have biologically active polysaccharides showing potent antitumor activity with immunomodulating properties. These polysaccharides have various chemical compositions and belong primarily to the beta-glucan group. In this study, the crude water-soluble polysaccharide HEF-P, which was obtained from the fruiting body of Hericium erinaceus by hot water extraction and ethanol precipitation, was fractionated by DEAE-cellulose and Sepharose CL-6B column chromatographies. This process resulted in four polysaccharide fractions, named HEF-NP Fr I, HEF-NP Fr II, HEF-AP Fr I, and HEF-AP Fr II. Of these fractions, HEF-AP Fr II was able to upregulate the functional events mediated by activated macrophages, such as production of nitric oxide and expression of cytokines (IL-1beta and TNF-beta). The molecular mass of HEF-AP Fr II was estimated by gel filtration to be 13 kDa. Its structural characteristics were investigated by a combination of chemical and instrumental analyses, including methylation, reductive cleavage, acetylation, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Results indicate that HEF-AP Fr II is a low-molecular-mass polysaccharide with a laminarin-like triple helix conformation of a beta-1,3-branched-beta-1,6-glucan.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon 200-701, Korea.
authors.forename: Jong Seok
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Kyoung Min
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Min
authors.forename: Jae Youl
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Eock Kee
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Hong
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001487:Basidiomycota / Q000737:chemistry*; D002460:Cell Line; D002850:Chromatography, Gel; D016207:Cytokines / Q000096:biosynthesis; D048690:Fruiting Bodies, Fungal / Q000737:chemistry*; D006027:Glycosides / Q000378:metabolism; D008262:Macrophage Activation / Q000187:drug effects*; D008264:Macrophages / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D009005:Monosaccharides / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D006027:Glycosides; D009005:Monosaccharides; D011134:Polysaccharides