IntroductionDuring our investigations of biologically active fungi, Armillaria ostoyae (Romagn.) Herink [1], a basidiomycete belonging to the family Physalacriaceae, came into focus, as it affected degranulation in RBL-2H3 cells. The species is commonly known as edible mushroom, but it also occurs as a devastating pathogen of various tree species causing serious economic losses in forestry all over the world [2]. The mechanisms of host infection as well as hostpathogen interactions have been studied intensively [3][4][5][6][7]. In addition, Armillaria mushrooms attract a wider interest, for instance, as the worldʼs biggest living organism [8] or as a producer of bioluminescence [9]. A broad variety of antibacterial and cytotoxic sesquiterpene aryl esters were isolated from the genus Armillaria, especially Armillaria mellea [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20], but also Armillaria novae-zelandiae [21] and Armillaria tabescens [22]. In this manuscript, degranulation inhibiting effects of extracts from fruiting bodies and cultivated mycelium as well as bioactivity-guided isolation of compounds from the mycelium of A. ostoyae are described. Degranulation is the process in which cells release secretory products stored in secretory granules by exocytosis. It is an important feature of many immune cells, e.g., for release of mediators [23]. Inhibition of degranulation can result in the blocking of inflammatory or allergic reactions.
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