Neuro-protective Properties of the Fungus Isaria japonica: Evidence from a Mouse Model of Agedrelated Degeneration

Isaria japonica (IJ), is an entomopathogenic fungus that is grown on pupae of the silkworm Bombyx mori for its medicinal properties. Its extracts have potential neuro-protective effects. An extract reversed astrogliosis in the CA3 area of the hippocampus of aged mice. The CA3 area is responsible for spatial pattern association and completion, detection of novel situations, and short-term memory. This finding led us to the development of treatments to improve age-related impairment of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Acute and subchronic toxicity and chemical profiling of the extract were conducted for the assessments of medical use. We are now evaluating preclinical trials with AD patients. For the diagnosis of AD, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) enabled the detection of the previously invisible pathological alterations in a mouse sclerosis model with autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) showed that demyelination regions in some multiple screlosis (MS) patients had increased lactic acid content, suggesting the presence of ischemic events. These results show that products derived from IJ may prevent or reduce the impact of dementia, especially AD, and MRI and MRS could lead widely to the diagnosis of neurological diseases.

Keywords: Aged brain, Alzheimer’s disease, Astrogliosis, Dementia, Entomopathogenic fungus, Isaria japonica, Magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy analyses, Multiple sclerosis, Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy analysis.