Radioprotective activity of neutral polysaccharides isolated from the fruiting bodies of Hohenbuehelia serotina

• NTHSP significantly improved the GSH-Px activity and increased GSH and ceruloplasmin contents in vivo.
• NTHSP obviously protected the DNA against the damages induced by radiation.
• NTHSP effectively blocked the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway induced by radiation.

In this study, the radioprotective effect of neutral polysaccharides from Hohenbuehelia serotina (NTHSP) against the damages induced by 60Co-γ radiation was investigated. The results showed that NTHSP could significantly improve the activity of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and increase the contents of glutathione (GSH) and ceruloplasmin in plasma after treated with 6 Gy-radiation compared with the radiation controls (p < 0.05). Furthermore, administration with NTHSP could effectively increase the quantity of marrow DNA (p < 0.05) and reduce the rates of chromosome aberration and micronuclei (p < 0.01) in bone marrows of mice. In addition, NTHSP could markedly inhibit the expressions of Bax protein and promote the expressions of Bcl-2 protein, accordingly inhibit the releases of cytochrome c and expressions of activated Caspase-3, and therefore block the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway of splenocytes in mice induced by 60Co-γ radiation. These results suggested that NTHSP might be a natural radioprotective agent against the injuries induced by radiation.