Another remarkable study on one of our favorite mushrooms in our Infinimin® brand, ganoderma lucidum, or the "Mushroom of Immortality".
Ganoderma lucidum, AKA "Reishi" (Japan) or Ling Zhi (China) is one of the most celebrated mushrooms in history, with emperors being buried with them to being celebrated on the walls of powerful cities. The image of President XI of China below during his 100 year address in 2020, stands in front of a Forbidden City wall and that unique red mushroom on wall behind him is a Ganoderma Mushroom (Ling Zhi).
The mushroom is so intertwined into Traditional Chinese Medicine, poets even scribed poems on them as they hardened in age and gave as gifts to distinguished persons at the time.
With this all as a backdrop, we bring to you yet another amazing study, this time with Tongue carcinomas.
Please enjoy the summary below
Background: The polysaccharides of the millenary mushroom Ganoderma lucidum (GL) have been shown for decades to present anti-tumor activities, but few studies evaluated its importance on cancer stem cells and EMT process. Cancer stem cells (CSC) drive the development of carcinoma and are also involved in cancer treatment failure, being a good target for treatment success. Also, the process of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is involved in metastasis and cancer relapse. Besides that, the increasing incidence worldwide of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) became a public health issue with a high rate of metastasis and poor quality of life for patients during and after treatment.
Aim of the study: To evaluate G. lucidum polysaccharides (GLPS) in vitro effects on OSCC, focusing on hallmarks associated with tumorigenesis using the SCC-9, a squamous cells carcinoma lineage from the tongue.
Materials and methods: SCC-9 cells were treated in vitro for 72h with different GLPS concentrations. The controls cells were maintained with culture media only and cisplatin was used as treatment control. After the treatment period, the cells were evaluated.
Results: GLPS treatment changed cell morphology and granularity, delayed migration, decreased colony, and impaired sphere formation, thereby leading to a non-invasive and less proliferative behavior of tumoral cells. Additionally, GLPS downregulated CSC, EMT, and drug sensitivity (ABC) markers.
Conclusions: These results show that the natural product, Ganoderma lucidum, has the potential to be an important ally for tongue squamous cell carcinoma treatment, bringing the millenary compound to modern therapy, providing a basis for future studies and the improvement of life quality for OSCC patients.
References
Marcela Rodrigues de Camargo , et. al. "Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharides inhibit in vitro tumorigenesis, cancer stem cell properties and epithelial-mesenchymal transition in oral squamous cell carcinoma." Journal of Ethnopharmacology 286 (2022) 114891.
(reference PDF in link below for free download)
Robert A. Blanchette Department of Plant Pathology University of Minnesota. "Imperial Fungus of the Qialong Emperor." Fall 2020