Immunoenhancement of Edible Fungal Polysaccharides (Lentinan, Tremellan, and Pachymaran) on Cyclophosphamide-Induced Immunosuppression in Mouse Model

Fungal polysaccharides display a variety of important biological activities, including anti-inflammatory, antitumor, and immune-stimulating activities. The aim of present study was to investigate the immunomodulatory effect of fungal polysaccharides on cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppression in mice. Mice were pretreated orally with lentinan, tremellan, pachymaran, or a mixture of the three, respectively. The results showed that pretreatments with polysaccharides significantly increased the thymus index in cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppression mice. The level of the cytokine IL-10 in sera of cyclophosphamide-induced mice was decreased after pretreatments of polysaccharides. Flow cytometry results showed that pretreatments with polysaccharides enhanced the phagocytosis of peritoneal macrophages in mice. The increased levels of serum antibody IgG and IgM were observed in the groups pretreated with polysaccharides. Our work demonstrated that the treatment of polysaccharides elicited strong immune activity and a protective effect against cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppression.