Antrodia cinnamomea Inhibits Growth and Migration of Lung Cancer Cells through Regulating p53-Bcl2 and MMPs Pathways

Antrodia cinnamomea has been shown to possess antitumor activity. This study investigated the effects and mechanisms of Antrodia cinnamomea extract (ACE) on growth and migration of human non-small cell lung cancer A549 cells. The effect of ACE on cell viability was determined by MTT assay and fluorescent live-cell imaging. The apoptotic effect of ACE was determined by cell cycle distribution using flow cytometry. A P53-mediated apoptosis pathway was identified by measuring protein expression of p53 and Bcl-2 with Western blotting. Additionally, mRNA expression of p53 and Bcl-2 and Bax was detected by qRT-PCR. The effect of ACE on cancer cell migration was confirmed by a wound-healing assay. Expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 at the protein and gene levels was determined by western blot and qRT-PCR analysis. This study demonstrates the inhibitory effect of ACE on A549 cell proliferation in a dose-response manner with an [Formula: see text]. It was determined that ACE concentration at [Formula: see text] induced cell cycle arrest at S phase in A549 cells. The apoptosis-regulating protein p53 expression was enhanced and also associated with the downregulation of Bcl-2 in ACE treatment cells. The mRNA expression of p53 and Bcl-2 associated with Bxa was consistent with protein expression. The inhibition of migration of cancer cells treated with ACE was clearly evident. At the same time, suppression of expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 at protein and mRNA levels was observed. The findings of this study highlight ACE as a potential agent of adjuvant therapy for lung cancer.