Protein chip analysis of cytokines reveals a key mechanism of the antitumor and immunostimulatory activities of Tricholoma matsutake polysaccharide.

Polysaccharide has been widely used in medical and health field because of its function of immune regulation. The aim of present study was to use protein chip to test the 200 cytokines secreted by macrophages which were induced by the polysaccharides of Tricholoma matsutake (TMP-A) to study the role of TMP-A acting on macrophages and its mechanism, further understanding the mechanism of the TMP-A effect on immune activity. The results of the analysis indicated that among all of these cytokines, including IL-1β, IL-10, IL-23, TNF-α, CD40L, G-CSF, etc. there are 73 up-regulated and 43 down-regulated cytokines. The KEGG analysis indicated that T. matsutake polysaccharide can influence the immune response of macrophages through a series of signaling pathways, and the three major signaling pathways are Jak-STAT signaling pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway and NF-kappa B signaling pathway. Those three signaling pathway are closely related to the pathogenesis of many diseases. The results showed that TMP-A can activate immune cells to regulate the immunity.