Ganoderma lucidum suppresses motility of highly invasive breast and prostate cancer cells

A dried powder from basidiomycetous fungi, Ganoderma lucidum, has been used in East Asia in therapies for several different diseases, including cancer. However, the molecular mechanisms involved in the biological actions of Ganoderma are not well understood. We have recently demonstrated that phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) and nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) regulate motility of highly invasive human breast cancer cells by the secretion of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA). In this study, we investigated the effect of G. lucidum on highly invasive breast and prostate cancer cells. Here we show that spores or dried fruiting body of G. lucidum inhibit constitutively active transcription factors AP-1 and NF-kappaB in breast MDA-MB-231 and prostate PC-3 cancer cells. Furthermore, Ganoderma inhibition of expression of uPA and uPA receptor (uPAR), as well secretion of uPA, resulted in the suppression of the migration of MDA-MB-231 and PC-3 cells. Our data suggest that spores and unpurified fruiting body of G. lucidum inhibit invasion of breast and prostate cancer cells by a common mechanism and could have potential therapeutic use for cancer treatment.