Lentinan alleviates sciatic nerve injury by promoting autophagy to remove myelin fragments

Abstract

Lentinan, a natural drug with wide‐ranging pharmacological activities, can regulate autophagy—the process through which Schwann cells (SCs) eliminate myelin fragments after peripheral nerve injury (PNI). However, the effect of lentinan after PNI and the role of accelerated myelin debris removal via autophagy in this process are unclear. This study examined the effect of lentinan on rat sciatic nerve repair following crush injury and the underlying mechanisms. After the successful establishment of the sciatic nerve compression injury model, group‐specific treatments were performed. The treatment group received 20 mg/kg lentinan via intraperitoneal injection, while the model group was treated with normal saline. The recovery in each group was then evaluated. Further, a rat SC line (RSC96) was cultured in medium with/without lentinan after supplementation with homogenous myelin fractions to evaluate the removal of myelin particles. Our results showed that lentinan promotes autophagic flux in vivo via the AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway, accelerates the clearance of myelin debris by SCs, and inhibits neuronal apoptosis, thereby promoting neurological recovery. Similarly, in vitro experiments showed that lentinan promotes the phagocytosis of myelin debris by SCs. In conclusion, our results suggest that lentinan primarily promotes nerve regeneration by accelerating the autophagic clearance of myelin debris in SCs, and this process is likely regulated by the AMPK/mTOR signaling pathway. Therefore, this study provides compelling evidence that lentinan may be a cost‐effective and natural treatment agent for PNI.

Bacteroides acidifaciens and its derived extracellular vesicles improve DSS-induced colitis

“…A bicinchoninic acid protein assay kit (BCA; Cat# PC0020; Solarbio, Inc., China) was used to determine the protein concentration of the samples. Then, the proteins were detached with 8–10% polyacrylamide resolving gels, transferred to polyvinylidene fluoride membranes (PVDF), and blocked with 5% skim milk for 90 min at RT ( Xiao et al, 2023 ). Then, the membranes were coincubated with the following primary antibodies overnight at 4°C: rabbit anti-Zona occludens protein 1 (ZO-1; Cat# 21773-1-AP; Proteintech Group, Inc.; 1:5,000, China); rabbit anti-Occludin (Cat# 27260-1-AP; Proteintech Group, Inc.; 1:2,000, China); and mouse anti-glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH; Cat# 60004-1-Ig; Proteintech Group, Inc.; 1:5,000, China).…”

“…LC-MS/MS analysis was performed on a timsTOF Pro mass that was coupled to Nanoelute (Bruker Daltonics). The MS raw data for each sample were combined and searched using the MaxQuant 1.5.3.17 software for identification and quantitation analysis Zheng et al, 2023).…”

Induction of Autophagy and Its Role in Facial Nerve Regeneration after Facial Nerve Injury

“…Lentinan, a natural product with broad pharmacological activity, can modulate the autophagy process by which Schwann cells remove myelin fragments after PNI. The potential to harness this activity the promote recovery after nerve injury was investigated in rats subjected to sciatic nerve compression injury (SNCI) [32]. After injury, the experimental group received 20 mg/kg of lentinan by intraperitoneal injection every day for 14 days, and the control group was injected with normal saline, after which neurological recovery was evaluated in each group.…”

A comprehensive review of secondary metabolites from the genus Agrocybe : Biological activities and pharmacological implications

“…Mushroom polysaccharides also exhibit antioxidant properties, containing compounds capable of scavenging free radicals and mitigating oxidative stress, which is beneficial in preventing or decelerating the progression of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases and cancers. Noteworthy examples include Lentinan from Lentinula edodes (Wu et al 2023 ; Xiao et al 2023 ), polysaccharides from Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi) (Jia et al 2022 ), and Hericium erinaceus (Lion’s Mane) (Yang et al 2022 ). These substances are known for their medicinal properties, including anti-tumour and immune regulatory effects.…”