Abstract
Agaricus blazei Murrill or Himematsutake is an edible and medicinal mushroom. Agaricus blazei Murrill’s fruiting body extracts have anticancer properties, although the mechanism is unknown. Basic or organic solvents, which are hazardous for human health, are generally used to prepare Agaricus blazei Murrill’s extracts. The inhibition of immune checkpoint molecules and Axl receptor is an effective therapy in cancer. This study assessed whether subcritical water extracts of the Agaricus blazei Murrill’s fruiting body or mycelium affect the expression of Axl and immune checkpoint molecules in lung cancer cells. We used A549 cells and mouse bone marrow-derived dendritic cells in the experiments. We prepared subcritical water extracts from the Agaricus blazei Murrill’s fruiting body or mycelium. The subcritical water extracts from the Agaricus blazei Murrill’s fruiting body or mycelium significantly inhibited the expression of immune checkpoint molecules and Axl compared to saline-treated cells. Additionally, the hot water extract, subcritical water extract, and the hot water extraction residue subcritical water extract from the Agaricus blazei Murrill’s mycelium significantly enhanced the expression of maturation markers in dendritic cells. These observations suggest that the subcritical water extract from Agaricus blazei Murrill’s mycelium is a promising therapeutic tool for stimulating the immune response in cancer.
Highlights
Mushrooms, members of the fungi kingdom, have been used in oriental medicine for therapeutic purposes since ancient times [1,2]
The present study focused on Agaricus blazei Murrill (ABM) or Himematsutake (Iwade strain 101), an edible mushroom of the Agaricaceae family that was originally identified in Brazil in 1960 [7,8]
Its inhibitory activity has not been reported in lung cancer cells
Summary
Members of the fungi kingdom, have been used in oriental medicine for therapeutic purposes since ancient times [1,2]. There is a huge number (1.5–5 million) of fungal species on earth, with approximately 12,000 of them being mushrooms [4,5,6]. Only around 2000 species of mushrooms are edible and/or have medicinal properties [4]. The present study focused on Agaricus blazei Murrill (ABM) or Himematsutake (Iwade strain 101), an edible mushroom of the Agaricaceae family that was originally identified in Brazil in 1960 [7,8]. ABM derivatives exert an antidiabetic property by accelerating glucose metabolism via the phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt pathway, improve hyperlipidemia by activating the peroxisome proliferator–activator receptor-γ pathway or by normalizing the gut microbiome community and protecting against organ injury by inhibiting oxidative stress [9,10,11,12,13]
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