title: Hericium erinaceus (Bull.: Fr.) Pers., a medicinal mushroom, activates peripheral nerve regeneration.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the ability of aqueous extract of Hericium erinaceus mushroom in the treatment of nerve injury following peroneal nerve crush in Sprague-Dawley rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  Aqueous extract of Hericium erinaceus was given by daily oral administration following peroneal nerve crush injury in Sprague-Dawley rats. The expression of protein kinase B (Akt) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways; and c-Jun and c-Fos genes were studied in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) whereas the activity of protein synthesis was assessed in peroneal nerves by immunohistochemical method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Peripheral nerve injury leads to changes at the axonal site of injury and remotely located DRG containing cell bodies of sensory afferent neurons. Immunofluorescence studies showed that DRG neurons ipsilateral to the crush injury in rats of treated groups expressed higher immunoreactivities for Akt, MAPK, c-Jun and c-Fos as compared with negative control group (P <0.05). The intensity of nuclear ribonucleoprotein in the distal segments of crushed nerves of treated groups was significantly higher than in the negative control group (P <0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  H. erinaceus is capable of promoting peripheral nerve regeneration after injury. Potential signaling pathways include Akt, MAPK, c-Jun, and c-Fos, and protein synthesis have been shown to be involved in its action.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia. wkahhui@um.edu.my.|Mushroom Research Centre, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia. wkahhui@um.edu.my.
authors.forename: Kah-Hui
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: Mushroom Research Centre, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Gowri
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kanagasabapathy
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia.|Mushroom Research Centre, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Murali
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Naidu
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia.|Mushroom Research Centre, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: David
authors.affiliation: Mushroom Research Centre, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia.|Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, 50603, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Vikineswary
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sabaratnam
mesh_terms: D000363:Agaricales / Q000737:chemistry*; D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005727:Ganglia, Spinal / Q000378:metabolism; D005936:Glucans / Q000032:analysis; D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System; D009409:Nerve Crush; D009416:Nerve Regeneration / Q000502:physiology*; D010525:Peripheral Nerves / Q000201:enzymology / Q000502:physiology*; D010543:Peroneal Nerve / Q000502:physiology; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000378:metabolism; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016755:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-jun / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D005936:Glucans; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; D016755:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-jun; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt
keywords: Hericium erinaceus; dorsal root ganglia; gene expression; peripheral nerve regeneration; protein synthesis machinery; signaling pathways