Abstract

Fungal immunomodulatory proteins (FIPs) are fascinating small and heat-stable bioactive proteins in a distinct protein family due to similarities in their structures and sequences. They are found in fungi, including the fruiting bodies producing fungi comprised of culinary and medicinal mushrooms. Structurally, most FIPs exist as homodimers; each subunit consisting of an N-terminal α-helix dimerization and a C-terminal fibronectin III domain. Increasing numbers of identified FIPs from either different or same fungal species clearly indicates the growing research interests into its medicinal properties which include immunomodulatory, anti-inflammation, anti-allergy, and anticancer. Most FIPs increased IFN-γ production in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, potentially exerting immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory effects by inhibiting overproduction of T helper-2 (Th2) cytokines common in an allergy reaction. Recently, FIP from Ganoderma microsporum (FIP-gmi) was shown to promote neurite outgrowth for potential therapeutic applications in neuro-disorders. This review discussed FIPs’ structural and protein characteristics, their recombinant protein production for functional studies, and the recent advances in their development and applications as pharmaceutics and functional foods.

摘要

由于其结构和序列的相似性，真菌免疫调节蛋白（FIP）在独特的蛋白家族中吸引着小型且热稳定的生物活性蛋白。它们存在于真菌中，包括生产由烹饪和药用蘑菇组成的真菌的子实体。从结构上讲，大多数FIP以同二聚体形式存在。每个亚基由一个N端α-螺旋二聚体和一个C端纤连蛋白III结构域组成。来自不同或相同真菌物种的已鉴定FIP数量的增加清楚地表明，人们对其药用特性的研究兴趣不断增长，这些特性包括免疫调节，抗炎，抗过敏和抗癌。大多数FIP会增加外周血单核细胞中IFN-γ的产生，通过抑制过敏反应中常见的T辅助2（Th2）细胞因子的过量生产，可能发挥免疫调节和抗炎作用。最近，来自灵芝微孢子菌（FIP-gmi）被证明可促进神经突生长，从而在神经疾病中具有潜在的治疗作用。这篇综述讨论了FIPs的结构和蛋白质特性，其用于功能研究的重组蛋白的生产以及它们在药学和功能性食品中的开发和应用的最新进展。