Anti‐Cancer Effects of Protein Extracts from Calvatia lilacina, Pleurotus ostreatus and Volvariella volvacea

Abstract

Calvatia lilacina (CL), Pleurotus ostreatus (PO) and Volvariella volvacea (VV) are widely distributed worldwide and commonly eaten as mushrooms. In this study, cell viabilities were evaluated for a human colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line (SW480 cells) and a human monocytic leukemia cell line (THP-1 cells). Apoptotic mechanisms induced by the protein extracts of PO and VV were evaluated for SW480 cells. The viabilities of THP-1 and SW480 cells decreased in a concentration-dependent manner after 24 h of treatment with the protein extracts of CL, PO or VV. Apoptosis analysis revealed that the percentage of SW480 cells in the SubG1 phase (a marker of apoptosis) was increased upon PO and VV protein-extract treatments, indicating that oligonucleosomal DNA fragmentation existed concomitantly with cellular death. The PO and VV protein extracts induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, glutathione (GSH) depletion and mitochondrial transmembrane potential (ΔΨm) loss in SW480 cells. Pretreatment with N-acetylcysteine, GSH or cyclosporine A partially prevented the apoptosis induced by PO protein extracts, but not that induced by VV extracts, in SW480 cells. The protein extracts of CL, PO and VV exhibited therapeutic efficacy against human colorectal adenocarcinoma cells and human monocytic leukemia cells. The PO protein extracts induced apoptosis in SW480 cells partially through ROS production, GSH depletion and mitochondrial dysfunction. Therefore, the protein extracts of these mushrooms could be considered an important source of new anti-cancer drugs.

Bioactive compounds and medicinal properties of Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus sp.)

“…A protein derived from P. ostreatus has a structure similar to ubiquitin and inhibits HIV-1 reverse transcriptase . A protein extract obtained from P. ostreatus exhibited a therapeutic effect towards the colorectal cancer cell line SW 480 and monocytic leukaemia THP-1 by inducing their apoptosis (Wu et al, 2011). In addition, eryngin and pleurostrin -the proteins isolated from the P. eryngii and P. ostreatus species exhibit antifungal and antibacterial properties (Erjavec et al, 2012).…”

Effectiveness of Immunotherapies from Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus species) in the Management of Immunocompromised Patients

“…Ribonucleases with molecular weight of 10.7 kDa have been isolated and characterized from the P. ostreatus with the potential of neutralizing HIV through degradation of viral genetic material [108].…”

Optimization ofCalvatia giganteamycelia production from distillery wastewater

“…where Y is the response (mycelial biomass), β 0 is the constant term; β 1 , β 2 and β 3 are the coefficient of linear terms; β 11 , β 22 and β 33 are the coefficient of quadratic terms; and β 12 , β 13 and β 23 are the coefficient of cross product terms. The goodness of fit of the polynomial equation was expressed by coefficient of determination R 2 and its statistical significance level was checked by F-test.…”

“…In the past decade, there have been many reports that the extracts of fruiting bodies and the cultured mycelia of these Calvatia spp. have various bioactivities, such as antibacterial and antifungal effects (18)(19)(20), anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects (21), and anti-proliferative and anti-cancer effects (22)(23)(24)(25)(26). The development and utilization of Calvatia spp., especially C. gigantea, have become of widespread interest.…”