title: A polysaccharide from Armillaria mellea exhibits strong in vitro anticancer activity via apoptosis-involved mechanisms.
abstract: Armillaria mellea is a famous traditional Chinese medicinal and edible fungus. In this study, we purified a water-soluble polysaccharide (AMP) from the fruiting bodies of this fungus. AMP contained 94.8% carbohydrate, 2.3% uronic acid and 0.5% protein. Its molecular weight was determined as 4.6 × 10⁵ Da, as determined by high-performance gel-permeation chromatography (HPGPC). Gas chromatography (GC) analysis indicated that AMP was mainly composed of d-glucose. In vitro assay, AMP exhibited a potent tumor growth inhibitory effect on A549 cells, and induced cell cycle disruption in the G0/G1 phase, accompanied by an increment of apoptotic cells. Furthermore, AMP induced the disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential, thus leading to cytochrome c release from mitochondria and activation of caspase-3 and -9. Taken together, our results demonstrate that AMP possesses strong antitumor activities through the mitochondria dependent pathway and activation of caspase cascade through cytochrome c release.
authors: Department of Thoracic Surgery, the Third Affiliated-Tumor Hospital, Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150040, China.
authors: Jun
authors: J
authors: Wu
authors: Jinxu
authors: J
authors: Zhou
authors: Yaoguo
authors: Y
authors: Lang
authors: Lei
authors: L
authors: Yao
authors: Hai
authors: H
authors: Xu
authors: Hubo
authors: H
authors: Shi
authors: Shidong
authors: S
authors: Xu
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D055392:Armillaria / Q000737:chemistry*; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D045304:Cytochromes c / Q000378:metabolism; D048690:Fruiting Bodies, Fungal / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D053078:Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial / Q000187:drug effects; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D011134:Polysaccharides; D045304:Cytochromes c