Abstract
Cordyceps sinensis, a parasitic fungus on the larva of Lapidoptera, has been used as a traditional Chinese medicine. We previously reported that the growth of B16-BL6 mouse melanoma (B16-BL6) cells and mouse Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cells was inhibited by cordycepin (3’-deoxyadenosine), an ingredient of Cordyceps sinensis, and its effect was antagonized by MRS1191, a selective adenosine A3 receptor (A3-R) antagonist although adenosine (up to 100 μM) had no effect on the growth of B16-BL6 and LLC cells. In this study, we investigated whether water extracts of Cordyceps sinensis (WECS) inhibit the growth of B16-BL6 cells, LLC cells, HT1080 human fibrosarcoma (HT1080) cells and CW-2 human colon carcinoma (CW-2) cells via their A3-R. As a result, the growth of all cell lines were potently inhibited by WECS (10 μg/mL) and the inhibitory effect of WECS was significantly antagonized by MRS1191 (1 μM). Furthermore, WECS included 2.34% w/w cordycepin and 0.12% w/w adenosine as components according to the HPLC- ECD system. In conclusion, WECS inhibited the proliferation of four cancer cell lines by stimulation of A3-R and the main component in WECS with anticancer action might be cordycepin instead of adenosine.
Highlights
Cordyceps sinensis, a fungus parasitized on the larva of Lapidoptera, has been used as a valued traditional Chinese medication and a tonic food
We previously reported that the growth of B16-BL6 mouse melanoma (B16-BL6) cells and mouse Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cells was inhibited by cordycepin (3’-deoxyadenosine), an ingredient of Cordyceps sinensis, and its effect was antagonized by MRS1191, a selective adenosine A3 receptor (A3-R) antagonist adenosine had no effect on the growth of B16-BL6 and LLC cells
We investigated whether water extracts of Cordyceps sinensis (WECS) inhibit the growth of B16-BL6 cells, LLC cells, HT1080 human fibrosarcoma (HT1080) cells and CW-2 human colon carcinoma (CW-2) cells via their A3-R
Summary
A fungus parasitized on the larva of Lapidoptera, has been used as a valued traditional Chinese medication and a tonic food. Natural products of Cordyceps sinensis are so rare and difficult to obtain in uniform composition that cultured products have been developed. We focused on the cultural fruiting body of Cordyceps sinensis instead of the mycelium and reported the anticancer effect of water extracts of Cordyceps sinensis (WECS) on mouse Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cells and B16 mouse melanoma cells [2]. We investigated pharmacologically whether WECS stimulate adenosine A3 receptor (A3-R) using a selective A3-R antagonist since an effective component in WECS, cordycepin (3’-deoxyadenosine), showed anticancer action via the stimulation of A3-R, according to our previous experimental data [3]. We quantified the content of cordycepin in WECS using the HPLC-ECD system
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