Genomics Changes Induced by Maitake D-Fraction in the Suppression of Breast Cancer Phenotype

摘要

It' s already known that Maitake (D-Fraction) mushroom is involved in stimulating the immune system and activating certain cells and proteins that attack cancer cells, including macrophages, T-cells, natural killer cells, and interleukin-1 and-2. For centuries, Japanese people have used Maitake mushrooms as a general promoter of robust health. According to the National Cancer Institute, polysaccharide complexes present in Maitake mushrooms appear to have significant anti-cancer activity. Also, it has been suggested that Maitake may work in conjunction with chemotherapy to lessen its side effects and to boost its positive effects. However, the exact molecular mechanism unchage by Maitake in the struggle against the cancerous cell is still unclear. At the present work we are trying to clarify the genomic expression induced by Maitake D-Fraction in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. We also want to demonstrate which genes are involved in the suppression of the breast tumoral phenotype and which biological pathways are involving in this effect. Therefore, we performed a new set of human cDNA microarrays assays including 25000 genes employing MCF-7 cells treated with and without increased doses of Maitake D-Fraction (91, 183 and 367 μg/mL), during 24 hours. The gene expressions were corroborated by real time RTPCR assay employing commercial available primers from Applied Biosystems, INC, CA. Understanding the molecular mechanisms induced by Maitake D-Fraction in the suppression of breast cancer phenotype may lead to the development of therapeutic/preventive strategies against highly incident of breast cancer.