Poria cocos (Schw.) Wolf, is an important Oriental culinary fungus with multiple functionalities, yet its active constituent have not been well defined. We previously purified an immunomodulatory protein, PCP, from P. cocos and described its biochemical features and its ability to activate primary macrophage via TLR4. In his study, we cloned the gene of PCP, and demonstrated its ability to activate Th1 response in vitro and in vivo. The complete cDNA sequence of PCP was 807 bp in length, including a 579-bp open reading frame encoding 194 amino acids, and a 151-bp 3'-UTR. In the presence of co-stimulatory CD3/CD28 signals, PCP significantly increased the expression of the activation markers CD44 and CD69 on... More
Poria cocos (Schw.) Wolf, is an important Oriental culinary fungus with multiple functionalities, yet its active constituent have not been well defined. We previously purified an immunomodulatory protein, PCP, from P. cocos and described its biochemical features and its ability to activate primary macrophage via TLR4. In his study, we cloned the gene of PCP, and demonstrated its ability to activate Th1 response in vitro and in vivo. The complete cDNA sequence of PCP was 807 bp in length, including a 579-bp open reading frame encoding 194 amino acids, and a 151-bp 3'-UTR. In the presence of co-stimulatory CD3/CD28 signals, PCP significantly increased the expression of the activation markers CD44 and CD69 on splenic CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. The expression of T-bet, tyrosine phosphorylation of STAT4, IFN-γ and IL-2 secretion during PCP-induced CD4+ T cell activation were also up regulated. Oral administration of PCP suppressed the level of serum total and OVA-specific IgG1, and enhanced the amounts of serum and OVA-specific IgG2a, and T helper 1 (Th1)-associated cytokine secretion in BALB/c splenocytes. In addition, oral administration of PCP significantly reduced IL-4 and IgE expressions in a murine model of atopic dermatitis. In conclusion, these results provide evidences that PCP could regulate mammalian immune cells and reveal their pharmaceutical potential in developing therapeutic strategies against Th2-mediated immune disorders.
