Abstract
BackgroundConventional scientific studies had supported the use of polysaccharides and β-glucans from a number of fungi, including Ganoderma lucidum for the treatment of recurrent oral ulceration (ROU). Our aim of the present study was to evaluate whether freeze-dried powder from G. lucidum mycelia (FDPGLM) prevents ROU in rats.MethodsA Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat model with ROU was established by autoantigen injection. The ROU rats were treated with three different dosages of FDPGLM and prednisone acetate (PA), and their effects were evaluated according to the clinical therapeutic evaluation indices of ROU.ResultsHigh-dose FDPGLM induced significantly prolonged total intervals and a reduction in the number of ulcers and ulcer areas, thereby indicating that the treatment was effective in preventing ROU. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) showed that high-dose FDPGLM significantly enhanced the serum transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) levels, whereas reduced those of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-17 (IL-17). Flow cytometry (FCM) showed that the proportion of CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ (forkhead box P3) regulatory T cells (Tregs) significantly increased by 1.5-fold in the high-dose FDPGLM group compared to that in the rat model group (P < 0.01). The application of middle- and high-dose FDPGLM also resulted in the upregulation of Foxp3 and downregulation of retinoid-related orphan receptor gamma t(RORγt) mRNA.ConclusionHigh-dose FDPGLM possibly plays a role in ROU by promoting CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ Treg and inhibiting T helper cell 17 differentiation. This study also shows that FDPGLM may be potentially used as a complementary and alternative medicine treatment scheme for ROU.
Highlights
Conventional scientific studies had supported the use of polysaccharides and β-glucans from a number of fungi, including Ganoderma lucidum for the treatment of recurrent oral ulceration (ROU)
The present study aimed to investigate the effect of Freeze-dried powder of Ganoderma Lucidum mycelium (FDPGLM) on a Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat model for ROU, analyze the influence of FDPGLM on the differentiation of CD4+CD25+Forkhead box P3 (Foxp3)+Regulatory T cells (Tregs), and assess the expression of Foxp3 and Retinoid-related orphan receptor gamma t (RORγt) transcription factor genes and serum level of cytokines that are associated with Th17 cells and Tregs to elucidate the mechanism of FDPGLM in ROU and provide experimental data for further investigation
We investigated the levels of cytokines that are associated with Th17 cells and Tregs in ROU rats(TGF-β1, IL17, IL-10, and IL-6).Analysis of cytokine production showed that high-dose FDPGLM induced both transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) and IL-10 production.A report had shown that maintaining a high TGF-β1 serum level enhances differentiation of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+Tregs as well as serves as the trigger for the regulation of immune responses [31]
Summary
Conventional scientific studies had supported the use of polysaccharides and β-glucans from a number of fungi, including Ganoderma lucidum for the treatment of recurrent oral ulceration (ROU). Statistically significant differences between the PA and the middle- and high-dose groups were observed (P < 0.01), indicating that the effects of middle-\and high-dose FDPGLM on RORγt gene expression in tissues are stronger than PA. Correlation between CD4+CD25+Foxp3+Tregs and expression of Foxp transcription factor gene in highdose FDPGLM group We analysed the correlation of the ratio of Treg to T cells to the expression of Foxp transcription factor gene in high-dose FDPGLM group.. There is a strong inverse correlation between Tregs/T ratio and the expression of Foxp transcription factor gene This result suggests that the increased ratio of Treg to T cells likely reflects the upregulating the expressionof Foxp transcription factor gene in high-dose FDPGLM group
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