ObjectiveTo compare the regulatory effects of five plant polysaccharides on immune function of cyclophosphamide （CTX）-induced immunosuppressed mice by network Meta-analysis， to provide evidence for the clinical application of polysaccharides and the development of effective polysaccharides and oligosaccharides. MethodSeven databases including PubMed， Embase and Web of Science were searched， and studies that met the inclusion criteria were selected. The methodological quality of the included studies was evaluated using the risk of bias tool of Systematic Review Centre for Laboratory Animal Experimentation （SYRCLE）， and the data were analyzed using RStudio and StataSE 17. ResultA total of 62 randomized controlled trials （RCTs） were included， involving 1 512 mice and five plant polysaccharides： Astragalus polysaccharide （APS）， lentinan （LNT）， Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide （GLP）， Poria cocos polysaccharide （PCC）， and Codonopsis pilosula polysaccharide （CPP）. The network Meta-analysis showed that APS ranked first in increasing spleen index （mean deviation （MD）=3.54， 95% confidence interval （CI） ［2.10， 5.96］）， thymus index （MD=1.98， 95%CI ［1.55， 2.54］） and T helper cells （CD4⁺）/T suppressor cells （CD8⁺） （MD=1.63， 95%CI ［1.13， 2.37］）， while CPP ranked first in up-regulating the number of peripheral blood leukocytes （MD=24.16， 95%CI ［8.21， 71.12］）， macrophage phagocytosis index （MD=2.52， 95%CI ［1.32， 4.82］） and immunoglobulin M （IgM） content （MD=1.79， 95%CI ［1.12， 2.85］）. ConclusionAll the five plant polysaccharides can regulate the immune function of immunosuppressed mice. Among them， APS has advantages in elevating spleen index， thymus index and CD4⁺/CD8⁺， while CPP focuses on increasing the number of peripheral blood leukocytes， macrophage phagocytosis index and IgM content. Due to limited number and quality of included studies， the conclusions needs to be further verified with large samples and high-quality studies.

By reviewing modern research and integrating clinical practice， this paper elucidates the correlation between the traditional Chinese medicine theory of pathological accumulation from collateral obstruction and gap junction intercellular communication （GJIC）， as well as its theoretical connotation and clinical application in tumor prevention and treatment. Physiologically， gap junction and collateral channels share similarities in structural distribution， substance exchange and information transmission. Pathologically， metabolic coupling mediated by dysfunctional gap junction resembles collaterals stagnation， forming the basis of tumor pathogenesis. The establishment of heterotypic gap junction parallels collateral hyperactivity， contributing to tumor metastasis. The post-translational modifications （PTMs） disorder of connexins is similar to the deficiency of collaterals， serving as a driver of tumor progression. Clinically， tumor treatment should follow the pathomechanism of collateral obstruction leading to pathological accumulation. In the early stage， detoxifying and unblocking collaterals can restore intercellular communication and inhibit tumorigenesis； in the progressive stage， calming hyperactivity and suppressing aberrant collateral pathways can prevent metastasis by interrupting heterotypic gap junction formation； and in the terminal stage， supporting vital qi and modulating PTMs of connexins can help delay tumor progression.