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Molecules
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Fungal Biopolymer Discovery, Characterization and Development
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Fungal Biopolymer Discovery, Characterization and Development

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Macromolecular Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 October 2021) | Viewed by 5285

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Adrian Wiater

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Industrial and Environmental Microbiology, Institute of Biological Science, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Akademicka 19, 20-033 Lublin, Poland
Interests: biopolymers; polysaccharides with biological activity; prebiotics; oligosaccharides
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Michał Tomczyk

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmacy with the Division of Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of Białystok, ul. Mickiewicza 2a, 15-230 Białystok, Poland
Interests: pharmacognosy; phytochemistry; phytotherapy; natural compounds
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Collegues,

We invite you to contribute to a Special Issue of the journal Molecules, “Fungal Biopolymer Discovery, Characterization and Development”, which aims to present recent developments in the field of fungal biopolymer science and application.

Currently, there is tendency to introduce natural substances to human therapies. One of the important natural resources of biologically active substances are fungi, especially the macromycetes fungi, amongst which almost 700 species possess significant pharmacological activity. The diverse biological activities of macromycetes fungi include antibacterial, antiviral, antitumor, immunosuppressive, antiallergic, and antisclerotic effects. Moreover, substances derived from these fungi may act as supplements for lowering blood pressure, antioxidants, and hepatoprotective and antiinflammatory factors. Among these compounds, polysaccharides, which belong mainly to β- and α-D-glucans, play a special role.

The goal of this Special Issue is to provide the most recent research on fungal polysaccharides that covers all aspects from synthesis, structural analysis, and biological activity to their application. We believe that this Special Issue will broaden the horizons of our knowledge of fungal biopolymers and its applications.

We look forward to your contribution

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Adrian Wiater
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Michal Tomczyk
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • fungal polymers
  • cell-wall polysaccharides
  • α- and β-glucans
  • exopolymeric substances
  • polysaccharide hydrolysates
  • oligosaccharides
  • prebiotics
  • biological activity of polysaccharides
  • immunomodulatory properties of polysaccharides
  • structural analysis

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 4205 KiB  
Article
Immunomodulatory Activity of Carboxymethyl Pachymaran on Immunosuppressed Mice Induced by Cyclophosphamide
by Feng Liu, Lijia Zhang, Xi Feng, Salam A. Ibrahim, Wen Huang and Ying Liu
Molecules 2021, 26(19), 5733; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules26195733 - 22 Sep 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2213
Abstract
The effects of immunomodulatory activity of two types of carboxymethyl pachymaran (CMP-1 and CMP-2) on cyclophosphamide (CTX)-induced mice were investigated. Both CMP-1 and CMP-2 were found to restore the splenomegaly and alleviate the spleen lesions and the mRNA expressions of TLR4, MyD88, p65 [...] Read more.
The effects of immunomodulatory activity of two types of carboxymethyl pachymaran (CMP-1 and CMP-2) on cyclophosphamide (CTX)-induced mice were investigated. Both CMP-1 and CMP-2 were found to restore the splenomegaly and alleviate the spleen lesions and the mRNA expressions of TLR4, MyD88, p65 and NF-κB in spleen were also increased. CMP-1 and CMP-2 could enhance the immunity by increasing the levels of TNF-α, IL-2, IL-6, IFN-γ, Ig-A and Ig-G in serum. In addition, CMP-1 could increase the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes and reduce the relative richness of Firmicutes at the phylum level. CMP-1 and CMP-2 could reduce the relative abundance Erysipelatoclostridum at the genus level. CMP-1 and CMP-2 might enhance the immune function of immunosuppression mice by regulating the gene expression in the TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway and changing the composition and abundance of the intestinal microbiota. The results suggested that CMP-1 and CMP-2 would be as potential immunomodulatory agents in functional foods. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fungal Biopolymer Discovery, Characterization and Development)
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25 pages, 1475 KiB  
Article
Fungal α-1,3-Glucan as a New Pathogen-Associated Molecular Pattern in the Insect Model Host Galleria mellonella
by Sylwia Stączek, Agnieszka Zdybicka-Barabas, Iwona Wojda, Adrian Wiater, Paweł Mak, Piotr Suder, Krzysztof Skrzypiec and Małgorzata Cytryńska
Molecules 2021, 26(16), 5097; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules26165097 - 23 Aug 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2375
Abstract
Recognition of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) by appropriate pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) is a key step in activating the host immune response. The role of a fungal PAMP is attributed to β-1,3-glucan. The role of α-1,3-glucan, another fungal cell wall polysaccharide, in modulating [...] Read more.
Recognition of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) by appropriate pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) is a key step in activating the host immune response. The role of a fungal PAMP is attributed to β-1,3-glucan. The role of α-1,3-glucan, another fungal cell wall polysaccharide, in modulating the host immune response is not clear. This work investigates the potential of α-1,3-glucan as a fungal PAMP by analyzing the humoral immune response of the greater wax moth Galleria mellonella to Aspergillus niger α-1,3-glucan. We demonstrated that 57-kDa and 61-kDa hemolymph proteins, identified as β-1,3-glucan recognition proteins, bound to A. niger α-1,3-glucan. Other hemolymph proteins, i.e., apolipophorin I, apolipophorin II, prophenoloxidase, phenoloxidase activating factor, arylphorin, and serine protease, were also identified among α-1,3-glucan-interacting proteins. In response to α-1,3-glucan, a 4.5-fold and 3-fold increase in the gene expression of antifungal peptides galiomicin and gallerimycin was demonstrated, respectively. The significant increase in the level of five defense peptides, including galiomicin, corresponded well with the highest antifungal activity in hemolymph. Our results indicate that A. niger α-1,3-glucan is recognized by the insect immune system, and immune response is triggered by this cell wall component. Thus, the role of a fungal PAMP for α-1,3-glucan can be postulated. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fungal Biopolymer Discovery, Characterization and Development)
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