Yang HL, Lin KY, Juan YC, Kumar KJS, Way TD, Shen PC, Chen SC, Hseu YC. The anti-cancer activity of Antrodia camphorata against human ovarian carcinoma (SKOV-3) cells via modulation of HER-2/neu signaling pathway.
JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY 2013;
148:254-265. [PMID:
23619020 DOI:
10.1016/j.jep.2013.04.023]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2012] [Revised: 03/09/2013] [Accepted: 04/08/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE
Antrodia camphorata (AC) is well known in Taiwan as a traditional Chinese medicinal fungus. However, the anticancer activity of AC against human HER-2/neu-overexpressing ovarian cancers is poorly understood.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The aim of this study is to investigate whether a submerged fermentation culture of AC can inhibit human ovarian carcinoma cell (SKOV-3) proliferation by suppressing the HER-2/neu signaling pathway. Cell viability, colony formation, DCFH-DA fluorescence microscopy, western blotting, HER-2/neu immunofluorescence imaging, flow cytometry, and TUNEL assays were carried out to determine the anti-cancer effects of AC.
RESULTS
MTT and colony formation assays showed that AC induced a dose-dependent reduction in SKOV-3 cell growth. Immunoblot analysis demonstrated that HER-2/neu activity and tyrosine phosphorylation were significantly inhibited by AC. Furthermore, AC treatment significantly inhibited the activation of PI3K/Akt and their downstream effector β-catenin. We also observed that AC caused G2/M arrest mediated by down-regulation of cyclin D1, cyclin A, cyclin B1, and Cdk1 and increased p27 expression. Notably, AC induced apoptosis, which was associated with DNA fragmentation, cytochrome c release, caspase-9/-3 activation, PARP degradation, and Bcl-2/Bax dysregulation. An increase in intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) was observed in AC-treated cells, whereas the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) prevented AC-induced cell death, HER-2/neu depletion, PI3K/Akt inactivation, and Bcl-2/Bax dysregulation, indicating that AC-induced cell death was mediated by ROS generation.
CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that AC may exert anti-tumor activity against human ovarian carcinoma by suppressing HER-2/neu signaling pathways.
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