ABSTRACT
The effectiveness of extracellular polysaccharides isolated from Trametes hirsuta strain VKESR was evaluated for their immunostimulating properties by in vitro lymphocyte proliferation, phagocytic assay, NK cell activity and cytokine quantification. The splenocyte proliferation assay showed that the extracellular glucans found to have good stimulation index and enhances the NK cell mediated tumor killing. It promotes phagocytosis in treated macrophages in a dose dependent manner. Furthermore, the polysaccharides exhibit significant stimulatory effect on cytokines IL-2 and IFN-γ whereas the polysaccharide has moderate stimulatory effect pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-α. These immunostimulating properties help in combating various diseases and could be a promising beginning for further research to study the role of extracellular polysaccharide on the host immune systems.
