Tag Archives: immunomodulatory

Cancer, Colon Cancer, Medical Studies, PSK

[Randomized controlled study on adjuvant immunochemotherapy with PSK in curatively resected colorectal cancer. The Cooperative Study Group of Surgical Adjuvant Immunochemotherapy for Cancer of Colon and Rectum]

[Article in Japanese]

Mitomi T, Tsuchiya S, Iijima N, Aso K, Suzuki K, Nishiyama K, Amano T, Takahashi T, Murayama N, Oka H, et al.

Dept. of Surgery II, Tokai University.

Abstract

To evaluate of adjuvant immunochemotherapy with PSK in curatively resected colorectal cancer, randomized controlled

study by 35 institutions in Kanagawa prefecture was conducted. From March 1985 till February 1987, 462 patients were

assigned one of two different regimens. 448 patients (97.0%) of them satisfied the eligibility criteria. Control group

received mitomycin C intravenously on the day and the day after the operations respectively followed by 5-FU orally over

for 6 months. PSK group received in addition to mitomycin C and 5-FU as in control group, PSK orally for over 3 years. By

February 1989, follow up studies of the patients after their operations had been carried out for two years to four years.

The disease free curve and the survival curve of PSK group were higher than those of control group, differences between

the two groups were statistically significant (Disease free curve: P = 0.0096, survival curve: p = 0.0391). From these

results, adjuvant immunochemotherapy with PSK was considered beneficial for curatively resected colorectal cancer.

PMID: 2500070 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

(Click Here for Detail)

Immunotherapy, Macrophages, Medical Studies, PSK

Reversal of Inhibition of Reactive Oxygen Species Macrophages

These results suggest that the immunological functions of macrophages is related to the activity of glutathione peroxidase. The non-specific immune-polysaccharide might protect macrophages by the damage induced by reactive oxygen species by enhancing anti-oxidative capacity.

(Click Here for Detail)

in vitro, Lymphocytes, Medical Studies

Differential effect of Coriolus versicolor (Yunzhi) extract on cytokine production by murine lymphocytes in vitro.

CY Ho, CB Lau, CF Kim, KN Leung, KP Fung, TF Tse, HH Chan, MS Chow.

School of Pharmacy, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, New Territories, Hong Kong, China.

Being one of the commonly used Chinese medicinal herbs, Coriolus versicolor (CV), also named as Yunzhi, was known to possess both anti-tumor and immunopotentiating activities. The present study aimed to investigate the in vitro immunomodulatory effect of a standardized ethanol-water extract prepared from CV on the proliferation of murine splenic lymphocytes using the MTT assay, and the production of six T helper (Th)-related cytokines using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique. The results showed that the CV extract significantly augmented the proliferation of murine splenic lymphocytes in a time- and dose-dependent manner, maximally by 2.4-fold. Moreover, the production of two Th1-related cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-2 and IL-12, in culture supernatants from the CV extract-activated lymphocytes was prominently upregulated at 48 and 72 h. Positive correlations were found between the levels of these two cytokines and the MTT-based proliferative response. In contrast, the production of two other Th1-related cytokines, including interferon (IFN)-gamma and IL-18, was significantly augmented only at 24 h, but not at 48 and 72 h. On the other hand, the levels of two Th2-related cytokines such as IL-4 and IL-6 were undetectable in the culture supernatants of lymphocytes treated with the CV extract. The CV extract was suggested to be a lymphocyte mitogen by differentially enhancing the production of Th1-related cytokines.

(Click here for detail)

Immunotherapy, Medical Studies

Polysaccharopeptide from the mushroom Coriolus versicolor possesses analgesic activity but does not produce adverse effects on female reproductive or embryonic development in mice.

TB Ng, WY Chan.

Departments of Biochemistry and Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong.

Coriolus versicolor polysaccharopeptide has been reported to exert immunomodulatory and antitumor actions. The present study showed that it exhibits analgesic activity in the hot-plate test upon intraperitoneal administration to ICR mice. 2. It did not affect ovarian steroidogenesis, ovulation and midterm gestation in mice. It did not exert an adverse effect on mouse embryonic development either, as evidenced by the lack of an effect on somite number, axial length and the incidence of abnormalities in heartbeat, yolk sac circulation, optic vesicle, otic vesicle, shape of body axis, forelimb buds, branchial apparatus, cranial neural tube and head size. 3. Its analgesic activity would add to its attribute as an immunomodulatory and antitumor drug.

(Click here for detail)

Medical Studies, PSK, Tumor

[Restoration of immunologic responsiveness by PSK in tumor-bearing animals]

[Article in Japanese]

Matsunaga K, Morita I, Oguchi Y, Fujii T, Yoshikumi C, Nomoto K.

Abstract

PSK is a protein-bound polysaccharide prepared from cultured mycelium of the Basidiomycete Coriolus versicolor. Effects of PSK on the immunologic responsiveness in tumor-bearing animals were investigated using syngeneic or allogeneic tumors in mice (Lewis lung carcinoma, B16 melanoma, Meth A fibrosarcoma, adenocarcinoma 755, X5563 plasmacytoma, colon 26, MOPC 31C myeloma, sarcoma 180 and Ehrlich carcinoma), rats (BC47 bladder carcinoma, Walker 256 sarcoma and AH7974 hepatoma), hamsters (HA-1T tumor and RPMI 1846 melanoma), guinea pigs (line-10 hepatoma) and rabbit (VX2 and VX7 tumor). Oral or intraperitoneal administration of PSK restored the depressed delayed hypersensitivity against sheep erythrocytes to a normal level in these tumor-host systems. Also, oral administration of PSK lowered the activity of immunosuppressive substances in the serum of tumor-bearing animals. These results suggest that PSK exhibits antitumor effects by restoring the depressed immunologic responsiveness in tumor-bearing animals.

PMID: 3789758 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3789758

Medical Studies, PSK, Tumor

Effect of immunostimulants and antitumor agents on tumor necrosis factor (TNF) production.

Mori H, Mihara M, Teshima K, Uesugi U, Xu Q, Sakamoto O, Koda A.

Department of Pharmacology, Gifu Pharmaceutical University, Japan.

Abstract

OK-432, a lyophilized preparation of Streptococcus pyogenes, showed a priming activity for TNF production in mice, associated with an increase of spleen weight. PSK, a protein-bound polysaccharide preparation from Coriolus versicolor, did not show such activity. Both OK-432 and PSK potentiated the TNF production in mice primed with Corynebacterium parvum (CP) and challenged with Escherichia coli endotoxin (LPS). Cytotoxic antitumor agents of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), cyclophosphamide (CY) and bleomycin (BLM) suppressed TNF production in mice primed with CP and challenged with LPS. TNF production suppressed by 5-FU, CY and BLM was partially restored by the combined treatment with OK-432 or PSK. These results suggest that the administration of cytotoxic antitumor agents suppresses the intrinsic TNF production in cancer patients, and the combined use of immunostimulants such as OK-432 and PSK is advantageous in restoring TNF production suppressed by cytotoxic antitumor agents.

PMID: 2448255 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2448255

in vitro, Medical Studies, PSP

Activation of peritoneal macrophages by polysaccharopeptide from the mushroom, Coriolus versicolor.

Liu WK, Ng TB, Sze SF, Tsui KW.

Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin.

Abstract

Polysaccharopeptide (PSP) is a substance produced by an edible mushroom, Coriolus versicolor which has been claimed to possess antitumor activity. However, neither tumoricidal activity nor cytotoxicity was observed when five tumor cell lines and mouse peritoneal macrophages were cultured in vitro in the presence of 2.5-10 micrograms/ml PSP. An increase in the production of reactive nitrogen intermediates, reactive oxygen intermediates (superoxide anions) and tumor necrosis factor was measured in peritoneal macrophages collected from inbred C57 mice which had received PSP in the drinking water for 2 weeks. Northern blot analysis also demonstrated that PSP activated the transcription of tumor necrosis factor gene in these cells, indicating that PSP exerted an immunomodulatory effect on the defensive cells.

PMID: 8282538 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8282538

Immunotherapy, Medical Studies, PSP

Immunomodulatory and antitumor activities of a polysaccharide-peptide complex from a mycelial culture of Tricholoma sp., a local edible mushroom.

Wang HX, Liu WK, Ng TB, Ooi VE, Chang ST.

Department of Biology, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin.

Abstract

A polysaccharide-peptide complex (PSPC) with immunomodulatory and antitumor activities was obtained from a submerged mycelial culture of Tricholoma sp., a local edible mushroom. The polysaccharide-peptide complex exhibited a molecular weight of 17 K in gel filtration and a single band after SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. It was characterized by non-adsorption on both DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B and CM-cellulose. It could activate the macrophages, stimulate the proliferation of T-cells, and inhibit the growth of sarcoma 180 in mice. It possessed more potent immunomodulatory and antitumor activities than Coriolus versicolor polysaccharopeptide (PSP) and deserves to be studied as a potential agent for immunomodulation and cancer therapy.

PMID: 7596231 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7596231

in vitro, Medical Studies

Antitumor effects of a refined polysaccharide peptide fraction isolated from Coriolus versicolor: in vitro and in vivo studies.

Dong Y, Kwan CY, Chen ZN, Yang MM.

Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong.

Abstract

RPSP, a refined polysaccharide peptide fraction isolated by fast performance liquid chromatography (FPLC) from the crude powder of total peptide-bound polysaccharides of cultivated Coriolus versicolor Cov-1 dose-dependently inhibited the proliferation of a human hepatoma cell line (HEPG2). The effective dose causing 50% inhibition following 3-day exposure to RPSP was 243 +/- 36 micrograms/ml for HEPG2. However, little or no inhibitory effects were detected in normal human foetal hepatocytes. On the other hand, in the pretreatment group, in which RPSP was administered i.p. for two weeks before sarcoma 180 inoculation in nude mice, the incidence of tumor growth was less (2 out of 5 mice) than that of the control group (all 5 mice). The tumor size of the control group was about 3-5 times bigger than that of the pretreatment group. In tumor-bearing nude mice, 5 days after sarcoma 180 inoculation, i.v. administration of RPSP significantly suppressed the growth of tumor mass. The inhibition rate was 93.6% on day 13. Furthermore, administration of RPSP did not cause any pathological lesions in vital organs of rabbits such as heart, liver, spleen, lung and kidney. In conclusion, these results indicate that RPSP acts by directly suppressing tumor cell growth in vitro and the prevention of in vivo growth of tumor mass is probably mediated also via its immunomodulating effects.

PMID: 8774067 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8774067

Medical Studies

Polysaccharopeptide from the mushroom Coriolus versicolor possesses analgesic activity but does not produce adverse effects on female reproductive or embryonic development in mice.

Ng TB, Chan WY.

Departments of Biochemistry and Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong.

Abstract

1. Coriolus versicolor polysaccharopeptide has been reported to exert immunomodulatory and antitumor actions. The present study showed that it exhibits analgesic activity in the hot-plate test upon intraperitoneal administration to ICR mice. 2. It did not affect ovarian steroidogenesis, ovulation and midterm gestation in mice. It did not exert an adverse effect on mouse embryonic development either, as evidenced by the lack of an effect on somite number, axial length and the incidence of abnormalities in heartbeat, yolk sac circulation, optic vesicle, otic vesicle, shape of body axis, forelimb buds, branchial apparatus, cranial neural tube and head size. 3. Its analgesic activity would add to its attribute as an immunomodulatory and antitumor drug.

PMID: 9251912 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9251912