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To research what chemistry
in foods affects mammalian chemistry including those genes that are affected by certain proteins and the other chemistry
found in a wide variety of speciality mushrooms.
The compilation of the results from research and analysis
on mushrooms from around the globe. The following are examples. Induction of apoptosis in human prostatic cancer cells with beta-glucan (Maitake mushroom polysaccharide).Department of Urology, New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York 10595, USA. 1: Mol Urol. 2000 Spring; 4(1): 7-13. PURPOSE: To explore more effective treatment for hormone-refractory prostate cancer, we investigated the potential antitumor effect of beta-glucan, a polysaccharide of the Maitake mushroom, on prostatic cancer cells in vitro. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Human prostate cancer PC-3 cells were treated with various concentrations of the highly purified beta-glucan preparation Grifron-D(R) (GD), and viability was determined at 24 h. Lipid peroxidation (LPO) assay and in situ hybridization (ISH) were performed to unravel the antitumor mechanism of GD. RESULTS: A dose-response study showed that almost complete (>95%) cell death was attained in 24 h with GD > or = 480 microg/mL. Combinations of GD in a concentration as low as 30 to 60 microg/mL with 200 microM vitamin C were as effective as GD alone at 480 microg/mL, inducing >90% cytotoxic cell death. Simultaneous use with various anticancer drugs showed little potentiation of their efficacy except for the carmustine/GD combination (approximately 90% reduction in cell viability). The significantly (twofold) elevated LPO level and positive ISH staining of GD-treated cells indicated oxidative membrane damage resulting in apoptotic cell death. CONCLUSION: A bioactive beta-glucan from the Maitake mushroom has a cytotoxic effect, presumably through oxidative stress, on prostatic cancer cells in vitro, leading to apoptosis. Potentiation of GD action by vitamin C and the chemosensitizing effect of GD on carmustine may also have clinical implications. Therefore, this unique mushroom polysaccharide may have great a potential as an alternative therapeutic modality for prostate cancer. PMID: 10851301 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Cited by 2 PubMed Central articles
Lower level relationships in the mushroom genus Cortinarius (Basidiomycota, Agaricales): a comparison of RPB1, RPB2, and ITS phylogenics.Mol Phylogenet Evol.2005 Nov;37(2):602-18. Epub 2005 Aug 8.Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Oster Farimagsgade 2D, DK-1353 Copenhagen K, Denmark. tobiasgf@bi.ku.dk We sampled and analyzed approximately 2900bp across the three loci from 54 taxa belonging to a taxonomically difficult group of Cortinarius subgenus Phlegmacium. The combined analyses of ITS and variable regions of RPB1 and RPB2 greatly increase the resolution and nodal support for phylogenies of these closely related species belonging to clades that until now have proven very difficult to resolve with the ribosomal markers, nLSU and ITS. We present the first study of the utility of variable regions of the genes encoding the two largest subunits of RNA polymerase II (RPB1 and RPB2) for inferring the phylogeny of mushroom-forming fungi in combination with and compared to the widely used ribosomal marker ITS. The studied region of RPB1 contains an intron of the size and variability of ITS along with many variable positions in coding regions. Though almost entirely coding, the studied region of RPB2 is more variable than ITS. Both RNA polymerase II genes were alignable across all taxa. Our results indicate that several sections of Cortinarius need redefinition, and that several taxa treated at subspecific and varietal level should be treated at specific level. We suggest a new section for the two species, C. caesiocortinatus and C. prasinocyaneus, which constitute a well-supported separate lineage. We speculate that sequence information from RNA polymerase II genes have the potential for resolving phylogenetic problems at several levels of the diverse and taxonomically very challenging genus Cortinarius. Antrodia camphorata inhibits proliferation of human breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo You-Cheng Hseua, , Ssu-Ching Chenb, Huang-Chi Chend, Jiuun-Wang Liaoc, and Hsin-Ling Yangd, ,  Received 19 October 2007; accepted 22 April 2008. Available online 4 May 2008. AbstractAntrodia camphorata (A. camphorata) has been shown to induce apoptosis in cultured human breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231). In this study, we report the effectiveness of the fermented culture broth of A. camphorata in terms of tumor regression as determined using both in vitro cell culture and in vivo athymic nude mice models of breast cancer. We found that the A. camphorata treatment decreased the proliferation of MDA-MB-231 cells by arresting progression through the G1 phase of the cell cycle. This cell cycle blockade was associated with reductions in cyclin D1, cyclin E, CDK4, cyclin A, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), and increased CDK inhibitor p27/KIP and p21/WAF1 in a dose and time-dependent manner. Furthermore, the A. camphorata treatment was effective in delaying tumor incidence in the nude mice inoculated with MDA-MB-231 cells as well as reducing the tumor burden when compared to controls. A. camphorata treatment also inhibited proliferation (cyclin D1 and PCNA) and induced apoptosis (Bcl-2 and TUNEL) when the tumor tissue sections were examined histologically and immunohistochemically. These results suggest that the A. camphorata treatment induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis of human breast cancer cells both in vitro and in vivo. Keywords: Antrodia Camphorata; Breast cancer; Cell cycle arrest; Apoptosis Article Outline
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