Suppression of Tumor Growth by Pleurotus ferulae Ethanol Extract through Induction of Cell Apoptosis, and Inhibition of Cell Proliferation and Migration

Abstract

Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide. Edible medicinal mushrooms have been used in traditional medicine as regimes for cancer patients. Recently anti-cancer bioactive components from some mushrooms have been isolated and their anti-cancer effects have been tested. Pleurotus ferulae, a typical edible medicinal mushroom in Xinjiang China, has also been used to treat cancer patients in folk medicine. However, little studies have been reported on the anti-cancer components of Pleurotus ferulae. This study aims to extract bioactive components from Pleurotus ferulae and to investigate the anti-cancer effects of the extracts. We used ethanol to extract anti-cancer bioactive components enriched with terpenoids from Pleurotus ferulae. We tested the anti-tumour effects of ethanol extracts on the melanoma cell line B16F10, the human gastric cancer cell line BGC 823 and the immortalized human gastric epithelial mucosa cell line GES-1 in vitro and a murine melanoma model in vivo. Cell toxicity and cell proliferation were measured by MTT assays. Cell cycle progression, apoptosis, caspase 3 activity, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), migration and gene expression were studied in vitro. PFEC suppressed tumor cell growth, inhibited cell proliferation, arrested cells at G0/G1 phases and was not toxic to non-cancer cells. PFEC also induced cell apoptosis and necrosis, increased caspase 3 activity, reduced the MMP, prevented cell invasion and changed the expression of genes associated with apoptosis and the cell cycle. PFEC delayed tumor formation and reduced tumor growth in vivo. In conclusion, ethanol extracted components from Pleurotus ferulae exert anti-cancer effects through direct suppression of tumor cell growth and invasion, demonstrating its therapeutic potential in cancer treatment.

Pleurotus ferulae water extract enhances the maturation and function of murine bone marrow-derived dendritic cells through TLR4 signaling pathway

“…Due to PF ethanol extract induced the apoptosis of tumor cells [21], we investigated whether PFWE induces apoptosis of BM-DCs by analyzing the expression of active caspase-3. We found that PFWE did not induce the apoptosis of BM-DCs, in contrast, high concentration of PFWE significantly decreased the expression of active caspase-3 (Fig.…”

“…PF produces various biologically functional components and exerts anti-oxidant, antitumor, and anti-microbial activities [18][19][20]. Recently, our study showed that PF ethanol extract (PFEC) suppressed tumor growth through induction of cell apoptosis, and inhibition of cell proliferation and migration [21]. In this study, we investigated the effects of PF water extract (PFWE) on the activation of bone marrow-derived DCs (BM-DCs).…”

Anti-cancer property of Lenzites betulina (L) Fr. on cervical cancer cell lines and its anti-tumor effect on HeLa-implanted mice

“…For the first time, in our study LBE of this mushroom showed the very promising anticancer effect by inducing apoptosis through ROS generation, reduction of MMP, P 53 up regulation and Bcl2 , pro-caspase-3,pro-caspase 9 and PRAP down regulation. But EE of other mushrooms such as Pleurotus ferue on B16F10 (melanoma), BGC 823 (gastric cancer) and the immortalized human gastric epithelial mucosa cell line GES-1 48 . Comparison of the effects of extracellular, intracellular polysaccharides, and ethanol extracts of Tremella mesenterica revealed that only ethanol extract triggered apoptosis in A549 cells.…”

Cultivated and wild Pleurotus ferulae ethanol extracts inhibit hepatocellular carcinoma cell growth via inducing endoplasmic reticulum stress- and mitochondria-dependent apoptosis

“…Accumulating evidence has shown that edible mushrooms have many biological activities and have been used as a source of natural medicine and functional food 9 , 10 . Pleurotus ferulae is an edible mushroom and grows on the living rhizome trunks of Ferula asafoetida in the Gobi desert, which is mainly distributed in Xinjiang, China 11 . Several studies including ours have reported that P. ferulae has anti-tumor, anti-microbial, anti-oxidant and immunomodulatory functions 11 – 16 .…”