Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Oct 28, 2025 3 hours, 5 minutes ago
Medical News: Study uncovers how Irpex lacteus polysaccharides protect kidneys from lupus-related damage
Researchers from the College of Pharmacy, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, together with colleagues from the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the College of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, and the Ginseng Scientific Research Institute, have discovered that a natural compound extracted from a medicinal mushroom could help combat one of the deadliest complications of lupus — kidney inflammation known as lupus nephritis.
Mushroom Compound Shows Promise for Treating Lupus Kidney Disease
Lupus nephritis occurs when the immune system attacks the kidneys, causing inflammation, scarring, and eventually kidney failure. Current treatments rely heavily on corticosteroids and immunosuppressants, which often cause severe side effects. Seeking safer and more effective alternatives, the Chinese research team turned their attention to polysaccharides extracted from Irpex lacteus, a fungus already known for its anti-inflammatory and immune-regulating properties. In this
Medical News report, scientists detail how these mushroom-derived polysaccharides significantly improved kidney function and reduced inflammation in laboratory mice with lupus nephritis.
How the mushroom extract works
In their eight-week study using lupus-prone MRL/lpr mice, the team gave animals either low or high doses of Irpex lacteus polysaccharides (referred to as PCP). The treatment reduced key lupus-related antibodies—anti-dsDNA, ANA, and anti-Sm—and lowered levels of inflammatory molecules like TNF-alpha and IL-6. Kidney function markers, including creatinine and blood urea nitrogen, also improved, while protein levels in the urine decreased.
Microscopic analysis of kidney tissues revealed that PCP helped maintain normal glomerular structure and reduced scarring and inflammatory cell infiltration. These findings show that the compound not only suppresses inflammation but also helps prevent permanent kidney damage.
Decoding the healing mechanism
To uncover how the mushroom extract works, the team combined transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses—two advanced biological profiling techniques. Their findings pointed to a central molecular pathway known as PI3K/AKT/NF-κB, which plays a major role in inflammation and immune regulation. In lupus nephritis, this pathway is typically overactivated, fueling a harmful cycle of inflammation and tissue injury. PCP treatment effectively blocked this pathway, reducing the activation of inflammatory proteins and helping restore immune balance.
Further analysis identified 38 key metabolites linked to amino acid and lipid metabolism that were altered by the treatment. This suggests that PCP not only calms inflammation but also helps normalize metabolic disturbances caused by lupus. Western blot experiments confirmed that levels of phosphorylated PI3K, AKT, and NF-κB proteins were sharply reduced after treatment, solidifying the conclusion that the mushroom pol
ysaccharides act through this inhibitory mechanism.
A potential natural therapy for lupus nephritis
The researchers concluded that Irpex lacteus polysaccharides could represent a powerful, natural therapeutic candidate for lupus nephritis by targeting the PI3K/AKT/NF-κB pathway. They emphasized that while these findings in animal models are encouraging, further studies in other models and eventually human trials are essential before clinical use. The study demonstrates the growing potential of natural compounds in managing autoimmune diseases where conventional treatments fall short.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Pharmaceuticals.
https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/18/11/1619
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