Chemoprotective effects of Ganoderma atrum polysaccharide in cyclophosphamide-induced mice

•PSG-1 could provide protection against myelosuppression induced by Cy.•PSG-1 can restore the immunosuppression induced by Cy treatment.•PSG-1 was able to protect against oxidative stress induced by Cy.•PSG-1 may be applied to antineoplastic immunotherapy with chemotherapeutic agents.

In this study, the chemoprotective effects of Ganoderma atrum polysaccharide (PSG-1) in cyclophosphamide (Cy) treated mice were investigated. In Cy-treated mice, PSG-1 treatment accelerated recovery dose-dependently of peripheral red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets, enhanced splenic natural killer cell activity and cytotoxic T lymphocyte activity. In addition, PSG-1 elevated CD4+ T lymphocyte counts as well as the CD4+/CD8+ ratio dose-dependently. Furthermore, PSG-1 restored the levels of IL-2, INF-γ, IL-10, IgA, IgM and IgG, as well as hemolysin in the sera. Finally, PSG-1 can also significantly increase the total antioxidant capacity, activities of superoxidase dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase, and decrease the malondialdehyde level in vivo. These findings indicate that PSG-1 plays an important role in the protection against myelosuppression and immunosuppression and oxidative stress in Cy-treated mice and could be a potential immunomodulatory agent.