Hepatoprotective bioactivity of the glycoprotein, antrodan, isolated from Antrodia cinnamomea mycelia

PLoS One. 2014 Apr 1;9(4):e93191. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0093191. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Antrodan, a protein-bound polysaccharide isolated from Antrodia cinnamomea mycelia, was demonstrated to exhibit significant anti-inflammatory bioactivity in vitro. However, its role in hepatic injury in vivo still remains unclear. We hypothesized that antrodan may have beneficial hepatoprotective effects. To verify this, a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-Sprague-Dawley rat model was used. Antrodan protected against liver damage by suppressing LPS-stimulated serum glutamine-oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT), glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (GPT), interleukin (IL)-6, hepatic thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), nitric oxide (NO), inducible NO synthase (iNOS) and nuclear factor (NF)-κB, and by effectively alleviating the downregulated hepatic superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px). Hematoxylin-eosin staining revealed that antrodan at a dosage of 40 mg/kg was able to alleviate LPS-induced liver damage to a normal status. In addition, we identified the partial main architectural backbone of antrodan to have a 1 → 3 linear β-glycosidic backbone of mannan linked by β-1 → 3 glucosidic branches. Conclusively, antrodan can potentially ameliorate liver damage in vivo by suppressing oxidative stress induced by LPS.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antioxidants / metabolism
  • Antrodia / metabolism*
  • Fungal Proteins / chemistry
  • Fungal Proteins / isolation & purification
  • Fungal Proteins / pharmacology*
  • Glycoproteins / chemistry
  • Glycoproteins / isolation & purification
  • Glycoproteins / pharmacology*
  • Interleukin-6 / metabolism
  • Liver / drug effects*
  • Liver / metabolism*
  • Liver Function Tests
  • Male
  • Mycelium*
  • NF-kappa B / metabolism
  • Nitric Oxide / metabolism
  • Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II / metabolism
  • Oxidation-Reduction / drug effects
  • Protective Agents / chemistry
  • Protective Agents / isolation & purification
  • Protective Agents / pharmacology*
  • Rats
  • Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances / metabolism

Substances

  • Antioxidants
  • Fungal Proteins
  • Glycoproteins
  • Interleukin-6
  • NF-kappa B
  • Protective Agents
  • Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances
  • Nitric Oxide
  • Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II

Grants and funding

Financial support by the National Science Council (NSC-102-2313-B-241-003), Taiwan ROC is gratefully acknowledged. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.