PSK is a protein-bound polysaccharide prepared from cultured mycelium of Coriolus versicolor. The effects of PSK on immunologic responsiveness were investigated in C3H/He mice bearing syngeneic X5563 tumor. The results were as follows. elayed foot pad reaction and antibody-forming capacity to sheep erythrocytes were depressed in tumor bearing mice, and such depression was prevented by oral or intraperitoneal administration of PSK. In vitro cytotoxic activity of splenic lymphocytes against the tumor was augmented by PSK administration. Antitumor effect was augmented by combination of PSK and X-irradiation. Delayed foot pad reaction to sheep erythrocytes was suppressed in normal C3H/He mice given immunosuppressive substance obtained from tumor-bearing mice, and the depressed reaction recovered to the normal level following PSK administration. These results show that PSK is effective in the syngeneic murine tumor system.
PSK is a protein-bound polysaccharide prepared from cultured mycelium of Coriolus versicolor. The appearance of an immunosuppressive effect in sera of tumor-bearing mice and its elimination by oral administration of PSK were investigated using an in vitro assay of blastoid transformation of normal spleen cells in response to PHA. (1) An inhibitory effect appeared in sera of X5563 plasmacytoma-bearing mice, while a facilitating effect was noted in sera of MH134 hepatoma- and MM 102 mammary tumor-bearing mice. (2) The presence of both an inhibitory and a facilitating factor was shown by Sephacryl gel fractionation. (3) Oral administration of PSK resulted in the elimination of the inhibitory effect from sera of X5563-bearing mice. The facilitating effect of sera from MH134-bearing mice was augmented by PSK administration, but that in sera from MM102-bearing mice was not influenced by such treatment. The summarized effects of these factors may be expressed as various types of effects in serum and PSK may be effective in the elimination of a suppressive factor from such sera.
PSK is a protein-bound polysaccharide prepared from cultured mycelium of the Basidiomycete Coriolus versicolor. Effects of PSK on the immunologic responsiveness in tumor-bearing animals were investigated using syngeneic or allogeneic tumors in mice (Lewis lung carcinoma, B16 melanoma, Meth A fibrosarcoma, adenocarcinoma 755, X5563 plasmacytoma, colon 26, MOPC 31C myeloma, sarcoma 180 and Ehrlich carcinoma), rats (BC47 bladder carcinoma, Walker 256 sarcoma and AH7974 hepatoma), hamsters (HA-1T tumor and RPMI 1846 melanoma), guinea pigs (line-10 hepatoma) and rabbit (VX2 and VX7 tumor). Oral or intraperitoneal administration of PSK restored the depressed delayed hypersensitivity against sheep erythrocytes to a normal level in these tumor-host systems. Also, oral administration of PSK lowered the activity of immunosuppressive substances in the serum of tumor-bearing animals. These results suggest that PSK exhibits antitumor effects by restoring the depressed immunologic responsiveness in tumor-bearing animals.
Department of Pharmacology, Gifu Pharmaceutical University, Japan.
Abstract
OK-432, a lyophilized preparation of Streptococcus pyogenes, showed a priming activity for TNF production in mice, associated with an increase of spleen weight. PSK, a protein-bound polysaccharide preparation from Coriolus versicolor, did not show such activity. Both OK-432 and PSK potentiated the TNF production in mice primed with Corynebacterium parvum (CP) and challenged with Escherichia coli endotoxin (LPS). Cytotoxic antitumor agents of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), cyclophosphamide (CY) and bleomycin (BLM) suppressed TNF production in mice primed with CP and challenged with LPS. TNF production suppressed by 5-FU, CY and BLM was partially restored by the combined treatment with OK-432 or PSK. These results suggest that the administration of cytotoxic antitumor agents suppresses the intrinsic TNF production in cancer patients, and the combined use of immunostimulants such as OK-432 and PSK is advantageous in restoring TNF production suppressed by cytotoxic antitumor agents.
Kureha Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. Biomedical Research Laboratories, Tokyo, Japan.
Abstract
The effect of PSK (Krestine, an anti-tumor drug prepared from Coriolus versicolor) on splenectomized experimental animals was investigated. Splenectomy was performed on both a tumor-free control group and a tumor-bearing group. The administration of PSK on the splenectomized control group significantly increased the immune state of the host. In the case of the tumor-bearing group, administration of PSK resulted in restoration of the immune function as observed in the control group. Recovery of the immunological function was accelerated when tumor-bearing animals were splenectomized at the terminal stage. The results suggest that the immunomodulating effects of PSK developed at the time of the splenectomy resulted in anticancer activity.
Biomedical Research Laboratories, Kureha Chemical Industries Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan.
Abstract
PSK (Krestin) is a protein-bound polysaccharide isolated from cultured mycelia of Coriolus versicolor in basidiomycetes. PSK is a biological response modifier which possesses unique characteristics. We investigated the effects of PSK on the immune response of aged C57BL/6 mice bearing a syngeneic transplantable tumor adenocarcinoma 755. (a) In C57BL/6 mice, the delayed foot pad reaction against sheep erythrocytes and resistance to syngeneic tumor challenge reached a peak when the mice were at 30 weeks of age, and decreased at 50-60 weeks of age. The serum of normal mice exerts a modifying effect on blastogenesis of lymphocytes to phytohemagglutinin. The positive effect reached a peak at 30 weeks of age, and thereafter declined with age. (b) When adenocarcinoma 755 was inoculated to C57BL/6 mice at 10-, 30- and 60-weeks of age, immune responses were depressed in 10-week-old and 60-week-old mice. PSK prevented such depression. However, in 30-week-old mice, tumor-induced suppression was slight, and administration of PSK to them increased proportion of mice which did not develop a tumor. (c) In 60-week-old tumor-bearing mice, the antitumor effects was increased with a combination of PSK and adoptive transfer of spleen cells from 10-week-old normal mice. The immune responses of mice, which change with the progress of age, are depressed by tumor burden. The administration of PSK to aged mice is effective to restore immune responses from tumor-induced suppression.
Department of Bacteriology, School of Dental Medicine, Tsurumi University, Yokohama, Japan.
Abstract
The effects of PSK and Propionibacterium acnes (anaerobic Corynebacterium) on hepatic drug-metabolizing enzymes were studied using sarcoma-180 bearing and non-tumor bearing mice. PSK had no influence on aminopyrine N-demethylase and aniline hydroxylase activities, cytochrome P-450 concentration in hepatic microsomes, and the reductase activity of cytochrome c in normal mice. The content of cytochrome P-450 was not significantly reduced in S-180 bearing mice. On the other hand, P. acnes administration significantly decreased the amount of cytochromes P-450 and b5 and aminopyrine N-demethylase activity. When FT-207 (Tegafur) was administered orally to S-180 bearing mice combined with the immunoadjuvants, only P. acnes significantly reduced the 5-FU levels in the serum and some organs.
Department of Pathology, SUNY Health Science Center, Brooklyn 11203.
Abstract
A glycan extracted from Coriolus versicolor (PSK, Krestin) which has antitumor and immunomodulator properties produced marked morphological and biochemical changes when added to cultures of mouse peritoneal macrophages. The cells were more spread and elongated than in control cultures, and these changes were accompanied by alterations in the rate of protein and DNA synthesis. In PSK-treated murine peritoneal macrophages the rate of protein synthesis increased above the level seen in control cultures after two days and reached a level twenty-fold higher than control on day four; this elevated rate of protein synthesis was maintained throughout the seven-day observation period. DNA synthesis was induced after four days in the presence of PSK, and reached a level ten-fold higher than control baseline on day five. This induction of DNA synthesis, however, could not be attributed to a mitogenic activity on lymphocytes. The alterations caused by PSK in macrophage metabolism may be related to the immunomodulating and antitumor activities of PSK in vivo.
First Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Showa University, Tokyo, Japan.
Abstract
PSK, a protein-bound polysaccharide extracted from the mycelia of Coriolus versicolor (Fr.) Quel, stimulated tumor necrosis factor-induced cytotoxicity against mouse L-929 fibroblast. PSK also stimulated interferon-gamma-induced differentiation of human myelogenous leukemic U-937 and THP-1 cells. The differentiated cells had higher proportions of cells that expressed NBT-reducing activity and alpha-naphthyl acetate esterase activity. Among four PSK subfractions, the highest molecular weight fraction (MW greater than 200 kD) had the most potent stimulating activity. This is the first report regarding direct PSK modulation of cytokine action.