Glycosphingolipids in Filamentous Fungi: Biological Roles and Potential Applications in Cosmetics and Health Foods.

Chunmiao Jiang,Bin He,Jinxin Ge,Bin Zeng

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2021.690211

Chunmiao Jiang, Bin He + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.690211

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Abstract

Filamentous fungi are a group of economically important fungi used in the production of fermented foods, industrial enzymes, and secondary metabolites. Glycosphingolipids (GSLs) as constituents of lipid rafts are involved in growth, differentiation, and response to environment stress in filamentous fungi. In addition to these key roles, GSLs are also important in the barrier function of skin to retain moisture as a moisturizing ingredient in cosmetics or health products for their strong biological activity as a functional component. GSLs found in filamentous fungi are divided in two major classes: neutral GSLs (glycosylceramides), glucosylceramides (GlcCers), and/or galactosylceramides (GalCers) and acidic GSLs, mannosylinositol phosphorylceramide (MIPC) and mannosyldiinositol phosphorylceramide [M(IP)2C]. Glycosylceramides are one of the abundant GSLs in Aspergillus and known to improve skin-barrier function and prevent intestinal impairment as a prebiotic. Some filamentous fungi of Aspergillus spp., synthesizing both GlcCer and GalCer, would be an amenable source to exploit glycosylceramides that wildly adding in cosmetics as moisturizing ingredients or health food as dietary supplements. In this minireview, the types, structures, and biosynthetic pathways of GSLs in filamentous fungi, and the relevance of GSLs in fungal growth, spore formation, and environmental stress response are explained. Furthermore, the advantage, potential development, and application of GlcCer and GalCer from filamentous fungi Aspergillus spp. are also investigate based on the use of plant GlcCer in health foods and cosmetics.

Highlights

Filamentous fungi, Aspergillus spp., Trichoderma reesei, and Neurospora crassa, are a group of economically important fungi used in the production of fermented foods, industrial enzymes, antibiotic substances, and organic acids (Brunt, 1986; Cherry and Fidantsef, 2003; Allgaier et al, 2009; Karaffa and Kubicek, 2019)
Shimoda et al (2012) established the effects of GlcCer on the changes in epidermal ceramide and GlcCer in mice after oral intake of rice-derived GlcCer, as well as in a human epidermal equivalent. These findings demonstrated an increase in the level of epidermal ceramide follow by a decrease in the amounts of GlcCer, suggesting epidermal GlcCer metabolism enhancing effect by oral intake of GlcCers
Miyagawa et al (2019) investigated the effects of glycosylceramides on gene expression in normal human epidermal keratinocytes, which reveal that koji and Aspergillus luchuensis and A. oryzae glycosylceramides increased the expression of occludin (OCLN, an epidermal tight junction protein) and ATP-binding cassette sub-family A member 12 (ABCA12, a cellular membrane transporter) to increase ceramide in the keratinocytes. These results indicated that glycosylceramides have an effect of increasing genes expression which involved in skin barrier function and the transport of lipids in the keratinocytes, and suggest that koji exerts its cosmetic effect by increasing ceramide and tight junctions via glycosylceramides

Summary

Introduction

Filamentous fungi, Aspergillus spp., Trichoderma reesei, and Neurospora crassa, are a group of economically important fungi used in the production of fermented foods, industrial enzymes, antibiotic substances, and organic acids (Brunt, 1986; Cherry and Fidantsef, 2003; Allgaier et al, 2009; Karaffa and Kubicek, 2019). The GSL pathways and related genes that contribute to fungal growth, differentiation, morphogenesis, those involved in response to environmental stress in filamentous fungi, are less appreciated.

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Conclusion