Cordyceps militarisis well known as a traditional herbal ingredient, which has been used for patients suffering from cancer in oriental medicine. In this study we have investigated the biochemical mechanisms of anti-proliferative effects by C. militarisextract(CME) in human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells. It was found that CME treatment induced chromatin condensation, mitochondrial energization, annexin V staining and sub-G1 phase DNAcontent. These indicators of apoptosis correlate with the mitochondrial dependent pathway, which results in the activation of caspase-3 activity. Both the cytotoxic effect by CME treatment were significantly inhibited by z-DEVD-fmk, a caspase-3 inhibitor,demonstrating the important role of caspase-3 in the observed cytotoxic effect. Cotreatment of CME and LY294002, resulted in significantly induction of apoptosis. These results indicate that caspase-3 is a key regulator of apoptosis in response to CME in human breast cancer MDAMB- 231 through downregulation of Akt, and that the C. militaris extract may therefore have therapeutic potential against human breast cancer.

Agaricus blazei is well known as a traditional medicinal mushroom and it has been shown to exhibit immunostimulatory and anti-cancer activity. However, the cellular and molecular mechanism of apoptosis of cancer cells is poorly understood. In this study, we have investigated whether A. blazei extract (ABE) exerts anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects on human leukemia THP-1 cells. It was found that ABE induced a time- and dose-dependent increase in leukemia cells apoptosis through caspase-3 activation and PARP cleavage. Activation of caspase- 9 induced by ABE suggested that ABE-induced signaling was mediated through a mitochondrial death pathway. In addition, we observed an elevation of ROS and a consequent loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, further suggesting that ABE-induced death signaling was mediated through a mitochondrial oxygen stress pathway. The antioxidant Nacetylcysteine, however, opposed ABE-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction, caspase activation, and apoptosis, supporting the role of ROS in the apoptotic process. We conclude that ABE induces apoptosisin human leukemia cells through a reactive oxygen species and caspase-dependent mitochondrial pathway.

Cordyceps militaris is well known as a traditional herbal ingredient, which has been used for patients suffering from cancer in oriental medicine. In this study we have investigated the biochemical mechanisms of anti-proliferative effects by C. militaris extract(CBE) in human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells. It was found that CBE treatment induced chromatin condensation, mitochondrial energization, annexin V staining and sub-G1 phase DNA content. These indicators of apoptosis correlate with the mitochondrial dependent pathway, which results in the activation of caspase-3 activity. Both the cytotoxic effect by CBE treatment were significantly inhibited by z-DEVD-fmk, a caspase-3 inhibitor, demonstrating the important role of caspase-3 in the observed cytotoxic effect. Co-treatment of CBE and LY294002, resulted in significantly induction of apoptosis. These results indicate that caspase-3 is a key regulator of apoptosis in response to CBE in human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 through down regulation of Akt, and that the C. militaris extract may therefore have therapeutic potential against human breast cancer.

Cordyceps militaris is well known as a traditional herbal ingredient, which has been used for patients suffering from cancer in oriental medicine. In this study we have investigated the biochemical mechanisms of anti-proliferative effects by C. militaris extract(CBE) in human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells. It was found that CBE treatment induced chromatin condensation, mitochondrial energization, annexin V staining and sub-G1 phase DNA content. These indicators of apoptosis correlate with the mitochondrial dependent pathway, which results in the activation of caspase-3 activity. Both the cytotoxic effect by CBE treatment were significantly inhibited by z-DEVD-fmk, a caspase-3 inhibitor, demonstrating the important role of caspase-3 in the observed cytotoxic effect. Co-treatment of CBE and LY294002, resulted in significantly induction of apoptosis. These results indicate that caspase-3 is a key regulator of apoptosis in response to CBE in human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 through down regulation of Akt, and that the C. militaris extract may therefore have therapeutic potential against human breast cancer.