Water extracts of dietary mushrooms, Agrocybe aegerita and Hypsizigus mamoreus, inhibit antigen expression of human hepatitis B virus

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is prevalent but the current treatments remain to be improved. This study evaluated the effect of dietary mushrooms on expression of surface (HBsAg) and e (HBeAg) antigens of HBV. Hot-water extracts (HWE) of dietary mushrooms, Agrocybe aegerita (AA), Hypsizigus mamoreus (HM) and Flammulina velutipes (FV), were prepared and subjected to gel permeation chromatograph for molecular weight separation. Human hepatoma cell lines Hep3B and Huh7 harboring HBV genome were used as an in vitro model for expression of HBsAg and HBeAg. Primary cultured mouse hepatocytes were used as a normal counterpart. HWE of AA and HM, but not of FV, possessed significant inhibitory activity against the expression of HBsAg in Hep3B and Huh7 cells. The activity of high molecular weight fraction of AA and HM was greater than the lower ones. Furthermore, HWE of AA and HM inhibited the expression of HBeAg in Hep3B cells. The HWE of AA and HM did not affect cell viability of neither hepatoma cell lines nor primary normal hepatocytes. In conclusion, the hot-water extracts of dietary mushrooms A. aegerita and H. mamoreus could inhibit the antigen expression of human HBV in host cells without toxicity to normal primary hepatocytes.