Characterization and functional study of Antrodia camphorata lipopolysaccharide.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a highly proinflammatory molecule isolated from bacteria. This study demonstrated the existence of LPS in a medicinal fungus, Antrodia camphorata. Because no LPS had been identified in any fungus organism, the purification of LPS from A. camphorata was attempted. LPSs from six strains of A. camphorata (35396, 35398, 35716, B71, B85, and B86) were isolated. Chemical and functional properties were investigated on the fungus LPS. Compositional analysis revealed that sorbitol, fucose, galactose, and glucose were the neutral sugars in LPS of A. camphorata. Galactosamine, glucosamine, galactose, and glucose were the predominant monosaccharide species in E. coli O129 LPS molecules, whereas galactosamine and glucosamine were absent in A. camphorata LPS. Because these properties are different from those of bacterial LPS, the functions between fungus and bacterial LPS are also discussed. The vascular endothelial lining of blood vessels, which controls leucocyte traffic and activation, may be one of the primary targets of LPS action during sepsis. Assays for biological activity were performed on endothelial cells with anti-inflammatory effects associated with sepsis. A. camphorata LPS apparently showed a lesser extent of cytotoxicity than bacterial LPS. In contrary to the proinflammatory property of bacterial LPS, LPS from A. camphorata differentially reversed bacterial LPS-induced intercellular adhersion molecule-1 and monocyte adhesion; both were indicators during inflammatory process. In conclusion, basic chemical properties categorized A. camphorata extracts into lipopolysaccharide. However, the detailed functional structures and bioactivities of A. camphorata LPS were totally different from those of bacterial LPS. The investigation of the existence and anti-inflammatory effect of fungus LPS is at present a truly novel and important finding. These results show that LPS isolated from A. camphorata offers a novel therapeutic target for anti-inflammation against E. coli infection.