Anticarcinogenic potential of the mushroom polysaccharide Lentinan on gastric and colon cancer cells: antiproliferative, antitumorigenic, Mu-2-related death-inducing gene, MUDENG ramifications

Mushrooms have been known as the elixirs of health, they are well known from ages immemorial for their nutritional and medicinal properties immunoceutical and immunomodulatory properties. Lentinula edodes ("shiitake") is a well-accomplished mushroom for its biological and medicinal attributes of huge significance. Lentinan is a bioactive polysaccharide that is extracted from shiitake mushrooms. In the present study, standard commercially available lentinan polysaccharide was used to demonstrate its anticancer activity. The results confirmed the anti-cancer cell proliferative effect of lentinan on colon and gastric cancer cell lines through the inhibition of G2/M phase in the cell cycle. Lentinan also could attenuate wound healing and colony formation abilities and migration in AGS and HT-29 cells, demonstrating its tumorigenesis potential. Lentinan could increase phospho-p38 and decrease phopho-ERK1/2, Mu-2-related death-inducing gene (MuD) protein. Besides, lentinan also induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production which was directly involved in cell death. In this study, various aspects of the anticarcinogenic activity of lentinan including the MuD influence have been demonstrated. This is the first report evidencing cross-talk by lentinan and MuD protein confirming the anti-apoptotic function of lentinan.