White Button Mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) Interrupts Tissue AR-TMPRSS2 Expression and Attenuates Pro-inflammatory Cytokines in C57BL/6 Mice: Implication for COVID-19 Dietary Intervention

Transmembrane protease serine 2 (TMPRSS2), an androgen-induced protease associated with prostate cancer, is one putative receptor for coronavirus entry into host cells, where triggering aggressive inflammatory cytokine storm and possibly death in COVID-19 patients. We previously reported that dietary white button mushroom (WBM) antagonized dihydrotestosterone (DHT)-induced androgen receptor (AR) activation and reduced myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) in prostate cancer animal models and patients. The present study on C57BL/6 mice revealed that WBM is a unique food that A) interrupts DHT induced AR-TMPRSS2 expression in putative COVID-19 targeted organs through its AR antagonistic activity and B) attenuates serum pro-inflammatory cytokines which have been implicated in COVID-19 pathogenesis. We hereby propose WBM intake as a potentially low-cost, efficient, and safe dietary intervention to mitigate COVID-19.