Medicinal mushrooms affect metabolic pathways in Trachea, bronchus, and lung cancer

Abstract

Medicinal mushrooms offer significant anticancer benefits through immunomodulation, reduction of inflammation, direct cytotoxicity, and synergy with cancer therapies. Studies suggest that incorporating medicinal mushrooms into diets or treatments may enhance cancer prevention and support ongoing therapies. However, a mechanistic understanding of how medicinal mushrooms modulate metabolic pathways to affect cancer cell growth remains unclear. In this study, we use bio-active extracts of two edible and medicinal mushrooms, Pleurotus Osteratus and Ganoderma Lucidium, which have previously demonstrated anti-cancer properties, and delineate metabolic pathways that are affected in the cancer cell line of the Lung (A549), and the healthy airway epithelial cells (Beas2b). By measuring biochemical parameters such as intracellular ROS levels and altered energy metabolism, we show that in cancer cells treated with P. Osteratus and those treated with G. Lucidium, ROS levels are reduced, and glucose metabolism is impaired. There is a difference in these parameters, how mushrooms affect Beas2b cells. To mimic the in-vivo architecture of cancer, we performed these experiments in 3D cancer spheroids cultured in low attachment well plates, and our results show similar trends as cells in 2D monolayers. To access cell growth and morphological changes, we aim to perform immunostaining with actin and Caspase-8 staining, in both 2D monolayer cultures and 3D spheroid cultures treated with mushrooms.