Immunopathological effects of Agaricus blazei Murill polysaccharides against Schistosoma mansoni infection by Th1 and NK1 cells differentiation

In this study, we examined the ability of A. blazei Murill polysaccharides (AB-PS) to activate the immune system in vivo and the protective activity exhibited against parasitic S. mansoni in the murine model. AB-PS treatment significantly reduced the worm and egg burden in infected BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice with dose- and time-dependent manners. Additionally, a dose- and time-dependent expression of IL-2, INF-γ, and TNF-α cytokines was also observed in both strains of mice treatments. Using T1/T2 doubly transgenic mice, we demonstrated that AB-PS-treated mice splenocytes initiated early differentiation of Th1 and NK1 cells, which was consistent with the reduction course of Schistosoma infection. Although AB-PS treatment enhanced the Th1 response, it did not suppress Th2 cell activity in treated mice. Histopathological data of the livers showed AB-PS treatment significantly attenuated the liver fibrosis induced by S. mansoni eggs. AB-PS augmented type-1 responses by inducing Th1 and NK1 cell differentiation to effectively decrease the infection rate of S. mansoni. Furthermore, AB-PS treatment may not only inhibit the schistosome infection, but also improving the pathological effects of granulomas formation. This study provides evidence for a novel therapeutic potential, by which A. blazei Murill may be used to treat or prevent schistosome infection. •We first demonstrated A. blazei Murill (AbM) polysaccharide extract has the capacity to activate the immune system in vivo and to protect against S. mansoni infection.•We revealed that AbM polysaccharides modulate immune responses to activate type-1 T-helper and Natural Killer cells, reducing the infection rate of S. mansoni and improving the pathological effects•We used specific transgenic mice model could be an ideal animal model to elucidate the therapeutic efficacy of A. blazei.•We provide information for the possibility that A. blazei Murill may have therapeutic potential in Schistosoma infection.•It would be very valuable for Chinese herbal medicine which can enhance anti-parasite immune response.