Coriolus versicolor Polysaccharide Mitigated Liver and Kidney Damage in Mice Exposed to Chromium

Heavy metal pollution not only causes great harm to the environment but also threatens the health of animals and humans.The current study investigated the effect of Tibetan Coriolus versicolor polysaccharide on mice exposed to Chromium (Cr).Thirty mice (BALB/C) were used in experiments and divided into the following groups, i.e., CCR (control), CMR (Cr model group), and CYR (treatment group).Mice in the CMR and CYR groups were given Potassium dichromate (10mg/kg) daily by gavage for about thirty-five days, and WR mice were treated with CVP (25mg/kg) via gavage.Pathological analysis indicated that CVP could effectively decrease tissue damage and fibrosis in mice.Organ index analysis found that CVP increased indexes of the heart (P<0.05) and kidney (P<0.0001), while reducing indexes of the liver (P<0.0001) and spleen (P<0.05) in mice.Serum biochemical analysis showed that CVP significantly decreased the contents of AST (P<0.0001),ALT (P<0.0001),BUN (P<0.001), and Creatinine (P<0.0001) in mice.CVP up-regulated the expression levels of NQO-1 (P<0.01),Nrf-2 (P<0.01), and IL-10 (P<0.05), and decreased IL-6 (P<0.0001),TNF-α (P<0.01), and Bax (P<0.001) expression.Microbiome analysis found five phyla (Firmicutes A, Firmicutes B, Desulfobacterota I, Firmicutes C, Deferribacterota) and twenty-one genera were different among groups.Those genera were Mailhella, Lawsonibacter, Anaerotruncus, Angelakisella, Merdisoma, Allobaculum, etc.The number of metabolites identified in mice was 3391, with 35 in CCR, CMR, 189 in CMR, CRY, and 180 in CCR and CYR, respectively.We demonstrated that Tibetan Coriolus versicolor polysaccharide could effectively alleviate liver and kidney damage in mice exposed to chromium by regulating antioxidant ability, inflammatory response, apoptosis, and intestinal microbiota in mice.