AimsCancer is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide; therefore, effective measures for cancer prevention and treatment are in constant demand. The extracts of Inonotus obliquus (Chaga mushroom) demonstrate potent anti-tumor activities and have been used to treat cancer in several countries; however, the actual effect and underlying mechanisms are still unclear. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the effects of continuous intake of aqueous extract from I. obliquus on tumor suppression.Main methodsAnticancer activity of the I. obliquus extract was examined in mouse models of Lewis lung carcinoma growth and spontaneous metastasis after 3 weeks of continuous extract intake at the dose of 6 mg/kg/day, which corresponded to that ingested daily with Chaga infusion in Japan.Key findingsThe extract of I. obliquus caused significant tumor suppressive effects in both models. Thus, in tumor-bearing mice, 60% tumor reduction was observed, while in metastatic mice, the number of nodules decreased by 25% compared to the control group. Moreover, I. obliquus extract-treated mice demonstrated the increase in tumor agglomeration and inhibition of vascularization. Interestingly, I. obliquus intake decreased body weight in middle-aged mice and increased body temperature in response to light-dark switching in mature adult mice. Furthermore, I. obliquus prevented temperature drop in mice after tumor implantation.SignificanceOur findings suggest that the I. obliquus extract could be used as a natural remedy for cancer suppression by promoting energy metabolism.

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ABSTRACT-An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with viral culture fluids as capture antigens was performed to detect specific antibodies against infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) from rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss sera. When using IHNV antigen (IHNV-Ag), ELISA OD values for IHN-survived (IHN-Surv) rainbow trout sera were relatively higher than those for specific pathogen free (SPF) fish sera. However, some of the SPF sera were diagnosed as positive due to high OD values (> 0.2). To clarify reasons for these high OD values, each of five IHNSurv and SPF sera was subjected to ELISA with viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) and hirame rhabdovirus (HIRRV) antigens (VHSV-Ag and HIRRV-Ag). Some of the IHN-Surv and SPF sera showed high OD values in both VHSV-Ag and HIRRV-Ag plates even though there was no possibility that those sera contained antibodies against VHSV or HIRRV antigen. These results suggest that some of the sera contained antibodies against impurities in viral culture fluids such as FBS and cell debris, and caused the false-positive reactions. The corrected OD values, subtracted the OD values in VHSV-Ag plates from those in IHNV-Ag plates, were all < 0.2, in SPF sera (n = 148) while those in IHN-Surv sera (n = 238) were randomly distributed from 0 to 0.7. It was considered that the corrected OD values may represent true values recognized by IHNV-specific antibodies.