Mei-Kuang Lu

Fermented Antrodia cinnamomea Extract Protects Rat PC12 Cells from Serum Deprivation-Induced Apoptosis: The Role of the MAPK Family

Antrodia cinnamomea (formerly A. camphorata) has recently and commercially been used in the formulation of nutraceuticals and functional foods in Taiwan. Because of its diverse properties, the neuroprotective effect was investigated using a fermented A. cinnamomea extract in this study. Serum deprivation-induced apoptosis in neuronal-like pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells was used as a cell stress model, and it was found that A. cinnamomea was effective in preventing serum-deprived apoptosis according to results of an MTT assay and Hoechst staining. Serum deprivation resulted in decreased phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and increased phosphorylations of c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38, of the family of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs); however, A. cinnamomea reversed these phenomena, supporting the antagonistic effects between ERK and JNK-p38 in regulating cell survival. The previously identified active component of A. cinnamomea, adenosine (ADO), also exerted the same effects as A. cinnamomea in preventing apoptosis and regulating phosphorylations of MAPKs. Although an inhibitor of the ERK upstream activator blocked A. cinnamomea-induced ERK phosphorylations, it failed to block the protection of A. cinnamomea and ADO. A protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitor blocked the protection by both A. cinnamomea and ADO. Both JNK and p38 inhibitors were effective in preventing the phosphorylations of JNK and p38 and serum deprivation-induced apoptosis. Collectively, A. cinnamomea prevented serum deprivation-induced PC12 cell apoptosis through a PKA-dependent pathway and by suppression of JNK and p38 activities.

Characterization of fungal sulfated polysaccharides and their synergistic anticancer effects with doxorubicin

Sulfated polysaccharides (SPSs) from two edible fungal species, including two strains of Antrodia cinnamomea and Poria cocos, were isolated. Fucose, glucosamine, galactose, glucose, and mannose were the major sugars in the SPSs, and these SPSs had a high sulfate content. The area percentage of low-molecular-weight SPSs (1-100 kDa) covered almost half of the SPS mixture of the A. cinnamomea strains. In contrast, high-molecular-weight SPSs (>1000 kDa) of P. cocos covered a large proportion of the area at 30.06%. SPSs from A. cinnamomea B86 showed stronger inhibition of endothelial cell (EC) tube formation in an in vitro assay of angiogenesis, than did A. cinnamomea 35396 or P. cocos. The degree of sulfation paralleled their antiangiogenic activity. When tumor cells were concurrently exposed to doxorubicin (DOX) and fungal SPSs, SPSs synergistically increased the cytotoxicity of DOX to different degree up to 50-fold. Fungal SPSs may offer new applications for combinational-therapy drugs.

Effects of Auxins on the Production of Steroidal Alkaloids in Rapidly Proliferating Tissue and Cell Cultures of Solanum lyratum

INTRODUCTION Solanum lyratum, a rare species, is used to treat cancer, tumours and warts. Plant cell and tissue culture of S. lyratum, producing steroidal alkaloids, could be useful supplements to natural sources. OBJECTIVE To study the production of solanine, solanidine and solasodine by adding auxin-type phytohormones including indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) to cell and callus cultures of S. lyratum. METHODOLOGY Methanolic extracts were made from callus and cell cultures of S. lyratumand and analysed using RP C₁₈ HPLC with UV detection. RESULTS 2,4-D-induced calli from roots led to a significant enhancement in solanine production with a value of 4.13 mg/g dry weight (DW). The maximal solanidine and solasodine levels of 6.26 and 7.69 mg/g DW were respectively obtained with IBA- and IAA-treated S. lyratum cells at concentrations of 1 and 5 mg/L. CONCLUSION Auxins were found to be useful phytohormones for the production of steroidal alkaloids. The callus and cell culture system developed is simple and can hence be a method of production of steroidal alkaloids in S. lyratum and other Solanaceae species.