Potential of Mushroom Compounds as Immunomodulators in Cancer Immunotherapy: A Review

Abstract

Since time immemorial, plants and their compounds have been used in the treatment and management of various ailments. Currently, most of conventional drugs used for treatment of diseases are either directly or indirectly obtained from plant sources. The fungal group of plants is of significance, which not only provides food directly to man but also has been source of important drugs. For instance, commonly used antibiotics are derived from fungi. Fungi have also been utilized in the food industry, baking, and alcohol production. Apart from the economic importance of the microfungi, macrofungi have been utilized directly as food, which is usually got from their fruiting bodies, commonly known as mushrooms. Due to their richness in proteins, minerals, and other nutrients, mushrooms have also been associated with boosting the immune system. This makes mushrooms an important food source, especially for vegetarians and immunosuppressed individuals including the HIV/AIDS persons. In complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs), mushrooms are increasingly being accepted for treatment of various diseases. Mushrooms have been shown to have the ability to stimulate the immune system, modulate humoral and cellular immunity, and potentiate antimutagenic and antitumorigenic activity, as well as rejuvenating the immune system weakened by radiotherapy and chemotherapy in cancer treatment. This potential of mushrooms, therefore, qualifies them as candidates for immunomodulation and immunotherapy in cancer and other diseases' treatment. However, a critical review on mushroom's immune modulating potential in cancer has not been sufficiently addressed. This review puts forward insights into the immune activities of mushroom associated with anticancer activities.

Influence of Maitake (Grifola frondosa) Particle Sizes on Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells and In Vivo Evaluation of Their Therapeutic Potential

“…Chitin and β-glucans are the two essential constituents of the mushroom's cell wall; and out of this, β-glucans (1 ⟶ 3), β (1 ⟶ 4), and β (1 ⟶ 6) make mushrooms a vital material to use as therapeutic agents [10][11][12]. Besides, mushrooms also have polysaccharides, polysaccharide-protein complexes, polyphenols, terpenoids, agaritine, ergosterol, and selenium in their structure [13,14]. Glucans are heterogeneous polysaccharides, where large numbers of glucose units are linked together differently.…”

“…The study aimed to evaluate the effects of different particle sizes of G. frondosa on human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) in terms of cell viability, mineralization, osteogenesis, and immunoglobulin secretion. The β-glucan was the chief constituent of the ethanol extract of the G. frondosa and was characterized through FTIR, 1 H-NMR, 13 C-NMR, and MALDI-TOF spectrometry. No adverse effects were exhibited by G. frondosa particles towards the hMSCs, indicating their biocompatibility.…”

Significance of Medicinal Mushrooms in Integrative Oncology: A Narrative Review

“…The biochemical mechanisms that mediate this biological activity are still not clearly understood. Several pathways, antiproliferative and immunomodulatory effects triggered by medicinal mushrooms have been described (Aras et al, 2018;Ayeka, 2018;Joseph et al, 2018;Rossi et al, 2018). Mushroom polysaccharides are known to stimulate latent natural killer cells, T cells, B cells and macrophage-dependent immune system responses (Wasser, 2017).…”

Anti-neoplastic Potential of Flavonoids and Polysaccharide Phytochemicals in Glioblastoma

“…The possible immunomodulatory mechanism of action of botanical polysaccharides is likely to involve specific interactions with various cell surface receptors, such as Dectin-1, lactosyl ceramide, Complement receptor-3 (CR-3), selected scavenger receptors (SR), TLR-4 and TLR-2. Polysaccharides binding to these receptors leads to activation and signal transduction of T lymphocytes, NF-kB and MAPK, subsequently increasing the release of certain chemical mediators (such as cytokines and colony-stimulating factors) and activation and stimulation of immune cells, such as lymphocytes, dendritic cells, cytotoxic macrophages, and natural killer cells [144][145][146], which inhibits proliferation of cancer cell through either direct cytotoxicity, cell cycle arrest and apoptosis of cancer cells, or through inhibition of angiogenesis and metastasis of cancer cells [147,148].…”

“…It has been approved for clinical use in Japan for the amelioration of solid sarcoma, increases the prognosis of patients with gastric cancer, head and neck cancers, and stage II cervical cancers [184]. Moreover, it improves prognosis and decreased recurrence for stage II cervical cancer, and it is more effective when injected directly to the tumor mass, suggesting direct cytotoxic effects to tumor cells [148]. Furthermore, schizophyllan induced apoptosis is thought to be mediated through increased caspase-3 levels in 7, 12 Dimethyl Benz (a) anthracene-induced hepatocellular carcinomas [185].…”