The liquid culture filtrates of entomogenous fungus Paecilomyces tenuipes and its glycoprotein constituent protects against anemia in mice treated with 5-fluorouracil.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the efficacy of a liquid culture filtrates of the entomogenous fungus Paecilomyces tenuipes (PTCF) and its main active glycoprotein-enriched (PGF) fraction against hematotoxicity in mice treated with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). Oral administration of PTCF (100 mg/kg/d) for 7 consecutive days after 5-FU injection significantly suppressed reductions in the red and white blood cell counts in peripheral blood, and accelerated their recoveries. From PTCF, glycoprotein-enriched fraction (PGF, >90% protein, approximately 15 kDa determined by SDS-PAGE) was separated as active ingredient that ameliorates 5-FU-induced anemia. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometric analysis of trypsinized-PGF showed 11 fragment ion peaks. Effective recoveries of erythrocytopenia and leukocytopenia were observed when PGF was co-administered with murine recombinant erythropoietin (mrEPO; 5 U/mouse). Oral administration of PGF also inhibited 5-FU-induced decreases in peripheral reticulocyte and bone marrow cell counts on day 12, and markedly hastened their recoveries on day 20, in dose-dependent manners. Reductions in erythroid progenitor colonies, such as colony-forming units (CFU)-erythroid and burst-forming units-erythroid mix, formed by bone marrow cells from 5-FU-treated mice were markedly improved by oral administration of PGF with subcutaneous mrEPO. Oral administration of PGF also increased the myeloid lineage progenitor, CFU-granulocyte-macrophages, in cultured bone marrow cells. These findings suggest that PGF isolated from P. tenuipes has the potential to protect against 5-FU-inudced erythrocytopenia and leukopenia, especially in combination with mrEPO, and also has hematopoietic activity, through stimulation of immature erythroid as well as myeloid progenitor cell differentiation.