Anticancer Efficacy of Cordyceps militaris Ethanol Extract in a Xenografted Leukemia Model

作者：Park Jae Gwang; Son Young Jin; Lee Tae Ho; Baek Nam Joon; Yoon Deok Hyo; Kim Tae Woong; Aravinthan Adithan; Hong Sungyoul; Kim Jong Hoon^*; Sung Gi Ho^*; Cho Jae Youl^*

来源：Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2017, 2017: 8474703.

DOI：10.1155/2017/8474703

Cordyceps militaris is used widely as a traditional medicine in East Asia. Although a few studies have attempted to elucidate the anticancer activities of C. militaris, the precise mechanism of C. militaris therapeutic effects is not fully understood. We examined the anticancer activities of C. militaris ethanolic extract (Cm-EE) and its cellular and molecular mechanisms. For this purpose, a xenograft mouse model bearing murine T cell lymphoma (RMA) cell-derived cancers was established to investigate in vivo anticancer mechanisms. MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay, immunoblotting analysis, and flow cytometric assay were employed to check in vitro cytotoxicity, molecular targets, and proapoptotic action of Cm-EE. Interestingly, cancer sizes and mass were reduced in a C. militaris-administered group. Levels of the phosphorylated forms of p85 and AKT were clearly decreased in the group administered with Cm-EE. This result indicated that levels of phosphoglycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (p-GSK3 beta) and cleaved caspase-3 were increased with orally administered Cm-EE. In addition, Cm-EE directly inhibited the viability of cultured RMA cells and C6 glioma cells. The number of proapoptotic cells was significantly increased in a Cm-EE treated group compared with a control group. Our results suggested that C. militaris might be able to inhibit cancer growth through regulation of p85/AKT-dependent or GSK3 beta -related caspase-3-dependent apoptosis.

• 出版日期2017