Comparative Cytotoxicity and Hemagglutination Activities of Crude Protein Extracts from Culinary-Medicinal Mushrooms

In vitro and in vivo inhibitory effects of a Pleurotus eryngii protein on colon cancer cells

The inhibitory effects of a protein isolated from Pleurotus eryngii were demonstrated in both cell culture and mouse allograft tumor models.

Characterisation of a New Fungal Immunomodulatory Protein from Tiger Milk mushroom, Lignosus rhinocerotis

Lignosus rhinocerotis (Tiger milk mushroom) is an important folk medicine for indigenous peoples in Southeast Asia. We previously reported its de novo assembled 34.3 Mb genome encoding a repertoire of proteins including a putative bioactive fungal immunomodulatory protein. Here we report the cDNA of this new member (FIP-Lrh) with a homology range of 54–64% to FIPs from other mushroom species, the closest is with FIP-glu (LZ-8) (64%) from Ganoderma lucidum. The FIP-Lrh of 112 amino acids (12.59 kDa) has a relatively hydrophobic N-terminal. Its predicted 3-dimensional model has identical folding patterns to FIP-fve and contains a partially conserved and more positively charged carbohydrates binding pocket. Docking predictions of FIP-Lrh on 14 glycans commonly found on cellular surfaces showed the best binding energy of −3.98 kcal/mol to N-acetylgalactosamine and N-acetylglucosamine. Overexpression of a 14.9 kDa soluble 6xHisFIP-Lrh was achieved in pET-28a(+)/BL21 and the purified recombinant protein was sequence verified by LC-MS/MS (QTOF) analysis. The ability to haemagglutinate both mouse and human blood at concentration ≥0.34 μM, further demonstrated its lectin nature. In addition, the cytotoxic effect of 6xHisFIP-Lrh on MCF-7, HeLa and A549 cancer cell lines was detected at IC₅₀ of 0.34 μM, 0.58 μM and 0.60 μM, respectively.

Medicinal properties of Hericium erinaceus and its potential to formulate novel mushroom-based pharmaceuticals

Hericium erinaceus is an important mushroom with edible values and medicinal properties. Both the mycelium and the fruiting bodies contain many bioactive compounds with drug efficacy. Recent evidence demonstrates that it is helpful to various diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, immunoregulatory, and many types of cancer. Furthermore, emerging pieces of evidence have shown that different active molecules in H. erinaceus have different functions on different organs in different diseases via the different mechanisms. Drawing on current research results, this review mainly focuses on the therapeutic effects of H. erinaceus on various diseases of multiple physiological systems, including the nervous system, digestive system, circulatory system, and immune system. This paper also discusses systematically the efficient protection of H. erinaceus against the diseases from the intricate experimental proofs by using the systematic viewpoints, which provides a framework for future research directions.