Influenza virus is a serious threat to global human health and public health security. There is an urgent need to develop new anti-
influenza drugs.
Lentinan (LNT) has attracted increasing attention in recent years. As potential
protective agent, LNT has been shown to have anti-
tumor, anti-inflammatory, and
antiviral properties. However, there has been no further research into the anti-
influenza action of
lentinan in vivo, and the mechanism is still not fully understood. In this study, the anti-
influenza effect and mechanism of
Lentinan were studied in the Institute of
Cancer Research (ICR) mouse model. The results showed that
Lentinan had a high degree of protection in mice against
infection with influenza A virus, delayed the emergence of clinical manifestations, improved the survival rate of mice, significantly prolonged the middle survival days, attenuated the
weight loss, and reduced the lung coefficient of mice. It alleviated the pathological damage of mice infected with the influenza virus and improved blood indices.
Lentinan treatment considerably inhibited inflammatory
cytokine (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6) levels in the serum and lung and improved IFN-γ
cytokine levels, which reduced
cytokine storms caused by influenza virus
infection. The underlying mechanisms of action involved
Lentinan inhibiting the inflammatory response by regulating the TLR4/MyD88 signaling pathway. This study provides a foundation for the clinical application of
Lentinan, and provides new insight into the development of novel
immunomodulators.