A Preclinical Evaluation of the Antitumor Activities of Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms: A Molecular Insight

Abstract

Cancer is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality around the globe. For certain types of cancer, chemotherapy drugs have been extensively used for treatment. However, severe side effects and the development of resistance are the drawbacks of these agents. Therefore, development of new agents with no or minimal side effects is of utmost importance. In this regard, natural compounds are well recognized as drugs in several human ailments, including cancer. One class of fungi, “mushrooms,” contains numerous compounds that exhibit interesting biological activities, including antitumor activity. Many researchers, including our own group, are focusing on the anticancer potential of different mushrooms and the underlying molecular mechanism behind their action. The aim of this review is to discuss PI3K/AKT, Wnt-CTNNB1, and NF-κB signaling pathways, the occurrence of genetic alterations in them, the association of these aberrations with different human cancers and how different nodes of these pathways are targeted by various substances of mushroom origin. We have given evidence to propose the therapeutic attributes and possible mode of molecular actions of various mushroom-originated compounds. However, anticancer effects were typically demonstrated in in vitro and in vivo models and very limited number of studies have been conducted in the human population. It is our belief that this review will help the research community in designing concrete preclinical and clinical studies to test the anticancer potential of mushroom-originated compounds on different cancers harboring particular genetic alteration(s).

A Polysaccharide Isolated from Dictyophora indusiata Promotes Recovery from Antibiotic-Driven Intestinal Dysbiosis and Improves Gut Epithelial Barrier Function in a Mouse Model

“…Mushrooms are widely consumed due to its health-promoting properties. Several lines of evidence depicted the clinical significance of mushroom polysaccharides [ 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 ] including the polysaccharides isolated from the mushroom Dictyophora indusiata [ 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 ]; however, the impact of polysaccharides from mushrooms in general and from D. indusiata in particular on gut microbial ecology has been rarely investigated. In this study, our data revealed that the DIP supplementation restored the gut microbiota community structure, enhanced microbial diversity, reduced the intestinal inflammation, and ameliorated the gut barrier integrity caused by antibiotic administration.…”

LP1 from Lentinula edodes C91-3 Induces Autophagy, Apoptosis and Reduces Metastasis in Human Gastric Cancer Cell Line SGC-7901

“…A natural treatment for a disease is always the best choice due to its minimum side effects, easy availability and low cost. Among natural products, mushrooms have a long history to be used as a source of food and medicine [ 11 ]. One of the most cultivated mushrooms is Lentinula edodes , which is associated with a number of medicinal properties ranging from anti-microbial to anti-metastatic and anti-cancer to immunomodulation [ 12 , 13 , 14 ].…”

Lp16-PSP, a Member of YjgF/YER057c/UK114 Protein Family Induces Apoptosis and p21WAF1/CIP1 Mediated G1 Cell Cycle Arrest in Human Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL) HL-60 Cells

“…This activation of NF-κB results in the transcription of genes that are involved in antiapoptotic ( Survivin , Bcl-xL , Bcl-2 , cIAPs , c-FLIP ) proliferative ( Cyclin-D1 , myc ), proinflammatory ( iNOS , COX-2 ), invasive ( MMP-9 ), and angiogenic ( VGEF ) activities [ 59 , 63 , 64 , 65 ]. Highlighting the fact that the agents that prevent the inactivation of NF-κB may serve as a potential arsenal for combating cancer, several lines of evidence have shown that the mushroom-originated compounds exhibits their anticancer effect by modulating different nodes of signal transduction pathways, including NF-κB [ 66 ]. Herein, our data indicated that Lp16-PSP from L. edodes strain C 91-3 has resulted in the inhibition of NF-κB translocation into the nucleus by reducing the phospho-IκB-α levels ( Figure 2 G).…”