Antitumor and immunomodulatory activity of a polysaccharide from fungus Coprinus comatus (Mull.:Fr.) Gray

In our study, a water-soluble polysaccharide (CCPa-1) was successfully purified from the fruiting bodies of Coprinus comatus by DEAE-cellulose and Sepharose CL-6B column chromatography. The molecular weight was evaluated to be 53.6 kDa as determined by high performance size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC). Sugar composition analysis revealed that CCPa-1 consisted primarily of galactose, glucose and arabinose in a molar ratio of 6.6:1.2:2.2. CCPa-1 could not only inhibit the growth of sarcoma 180 (S180) tumor transplanted in mice, but also increase the relative spleen/thymus indexes and body weight of tumor bearing mice. Moreover, Con A- or LPS-induced splenocyte proliferation was also enhanced after CCPa-1 administration in tumor-bearing mice. Furthermore, CCPa-1 significantly enhanced the Con A- or LPS-induced splenocyte proliferation and increased the production of TNF-α and IL-2. All the data demonstrated that CCPa-1 had a potential application as natural antitumor agent with immunomodulatory activity.