Ganoderma lucidum suppresses growth of breast cancer cells through the inhibition of Akt/NF-κB signaling

Abstract: Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi, Lingzhi) is a popular Asian mushroom that has been used for more than 2 millennia for the general promotion of health and was therefore called the "Mushroom of Immortality." Ganoderma lucidum was also used in traditional Chinese medicine to prevent or treat a variety of diseases, including cancer. We previously demonstrated that Ganoderma lucidum suppresses the invasive behavior of breast cancer cells by inhibiting the transcription factor NF-κB. However, the molecular mechanisms responsible for the inhibitory effects of Ganoderma lucidum on the growth of highly invasive and metastatic breast cancer cells has not been fully elucidated. Here, we show that Ganoderma lucidum inhibits proliferation of breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells by downregulating Akt/NF-κB signaling. Ganoderma lucidum suppresses phosphorylation of Akt on Ser473 and downregulates the expression of Akt, which results in the inhibition of NF-κB activity in MDA-MB-231 cells. The biological effect of Ganoder...