Maitake mushroom extract induce apoptosis in breast cancer cells by BAK-1 gene activation.

RAQUEL SOARES; MANUELA MEIRELES; ANA SOFIA ROCHA; DIEGO OBIOL; ELIANA ALONSO; GISELA JOOS; GABRIELA BALOGH

Washington DC, USA

Encuentro; American Association for Cancer Research. 101st Annual Meeting; 2010

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR CANCER RESEARCH

Background: Maitake mushroom has various bioactive compounds. D-fraction, a protein-bound polysaccharide compound, seems to be the most potent for enhancing the immune system via oral administration or injection. In previous studies, the combination of this extract with chemotherapy suggested that the D-Fraction may have the potential to decrease the size of lung, liver, and breast tumors in cancer patients.Objective:The aim of this study was to examine the in vitro effect of maitake D- Fraction on breast cancer MCF7 cells.Methods: Cultures of MCF7 cells, incubated with increased concentrations of liquid maitake D-fraction, 0mg/ml ; 18,3pg/ml; 36pg/ml; 91pg/ml; 183pg/ml; 367pg/ml, were evaluated for viability, by MTS assay and apoptosis, by TUNEL assay. All experiments were performed in triplicate.Results: Results seem to indicate that maitake-treated cells have higher apoptosis levels and poorer viability when compared to non-treated cell cultures.Conclusion: The results obtained in this study, focusing the effect of maitake D- fraction in breast cancer cell proliferation, can drive us to new therapeutic strategies against breast cancer and show that we can find a lot of bioactive compounds in traditional food.