A polysaccharide-peptide complex from cultured mycelia of the mushroom Tricholoma mongolicum with immunoenhancing and antitumor activities.

A polysaccharide-peptide complex with immunoenhancing and antitumor activities was obtained from the mycelial culture of Tricholoma mongolicum, an edible mushroom found in Northern China. The polysaccharide-peptide complex had a molecular mass of 15.5 kDa, as estimated by gel filtration, and a carbohydrate-protein ratio of about 8:1 and was not adsorbed on DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B. It possessed the activities of activating macrophages, stimulating macrophage antigen-presenting activity, which in turn enhanced proliferation of T-cells, and inhibiting the growth of sarcoma 180 cells that had been implanted in mice.