Structural characterization of a polysaccharide from Lyophyllum decastes with MAPK-mediated immune regulation ability in mice

Abstract

Lyophyllum decastes is a common macrofungi for both medicinal and economic value, and its polysaccharide has excellent development potential as a new immune regulator. In the present study, the bioactive component polysaccharide of L decastes was extracted, and its chain structure was characterized in detail by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, high-performance gel-permeation chromatography (HP-GPC), and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). LDP-W had a molecular weight of 2.12 × 10⁴ Da, highly branched β type pyranose. At the same time, it exhibited potential immunomodulatory activity, which can modulate the numbers of CD3+, CD4+, CD8+ and CD19+ cells in the spleen; optimize the CD4+/CD8+ ratio; promoted T and B lymphocyte proliferation and it can elevate the levels of IL-2, IL-6, IFN-γ and TNF-α in immunosuppressed mice by influencing the phosphorylation of MAPK signaling-related proteins. These studies fill the gap in the immune regulation mechanism of L decastes polysaccharide, providing a theoretical basis for the potential application of LDP-W as immunomodulatory drugs or functional foods.

Keywords:
Lyophyllum decastes; polysaccharides; structural elucidation; immunomodulatory activity