Abstract
Phellinus linteus (PL) mushroom possesses anti-tumor property. We previously reported that the treatment with PL caused cultured human prostate cancer cells to undergo apoptosis. To further studying the mechanisms of PL-mediated apoptosis, we performed xenograft assay, together with in vitro assays, to evaluate the effect of PL on the genesis and progression of the tumors formed from the inoculation of prostate cancer PC3 or DU145 cells. After the inoculation, nude mice were injected with PL every two days for 12 days. Although PL treatment did not prevent the formation of the inoculated tumors, the growth rate of the tumors after PL treatment was dramatically attenuated. We then tested the effect of PL on the tumors 12 days after the inoculation. After inoculated tumors reached a certain size, PL was administrated to the mice by subcutaneous injection. The histochemistry or immunochemistry analysis showed that apoptosis occurred with the activation of caspase 3 in the tumors formed by inoculating prostate cancer DU145 or PC3 cells. The data was in a good agreement with that from cultured cells. Thus, our in vivo study suggests that PL not only is able to attenuate tumor growth, but also to cause tumor regression by inducing apoptosis.
Highlights
Prostate cancer is a devastated disease in men
We demonstrated that Phellinus linteus (PL) is able to initiate apoptosis in various malignant prostate cancer cell lines, but induce G1 arrest in normal prostate epithelial cells [6],[7],[13]
Using xenograft assay, we showed that PL is capable of eliciting an apoptotic response in vivo to block the growth of the tumors formed by the inoculation of human prostate cancer DU145 or PC3 cells
Summary
Prostate cancer is a devastated disease in men. Therapies (such as surgery or androgen ablation) have improved the survival rate of the patients, lack of success with hormone-refractory prostate cancer remains. The advanced tumors are often resistant to chemotherapeutic drugs. The mechanisms for the resistance are unclear, it has been postulated that the development of tumors, such as refractory prostate cancer, is related to the accumulation of genetic or epigenetic alterations. In Asian, PL is one of wellestablished medicinal mushrooms that have been using to treat various human malignancies. Since PL possesses the anti-tumor, antiangiogenic and immunomodulatory properties, it has drawn wide interests in Asia to develop it for anti-cancer therapeutics. In order to develop this medicinal mushroom as anti-prostate cancer remedy, a better understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms of PL functions is required
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