The unique antitumor effect of Cordyceps sinensis

The antitumor effect of Cordyceps sinensis was reported in the 1960s The research shows that Cordyceps Sinensis Decoction has certain antitumor effect on S180 Cordyceps sinensis was extracted with water, alcohol, ether and other solvents respectively, dissolved and sterilized to make injection, and its anti EAC effect was studied The results showed that Cordyceps sinensis alcohol extract had obvious anti-cancer effect, and the effect was positively related to the dose It was found that the ether extract of Cordyceps sinensis was the effective part of its antitumor effect, and the water extract of Cordyceps sinensis inhibited the growth of Lewis lung cancer transplanted subcutaneously in mice and the spontaneous lung metastasis in mice Although different observers have different understanding of the active site of the antitumor effect of Cordyceps sinensis, it has been proved that Cordyceps sinensis has antitumor effect The antitumor effects of Cordyceps sinensis warm water extract (ECS) in vitro and in vivo were studied It was found that ECs could significantly prolong the survival of BALB / c mice inoculated with EAC and Meth-A fibroma cells, while ECS had neither cytotoxic nor growth inhibitory effects on EAC and meth2a cells in vitro The antitumor effect of ECS could be significantly reduced by X-ray irradiation before EAC inoculation, suggesting that ECs may play an antitumor role mainly by regulating the immune function of the host In order to study the effect of Cordyceps sinensis alcohol extract on the activity of natural killer cells (nks) and the formation of tumor clones in mice, Lewis lung cancer cells were used The results showed that the ethanol extract of Cordyceps sinensis could enhance the activity of NK cells in mice and human, prevent the decrease of NK cell activity in immunosuppressed mice and inhibit the formation of tumor clone in mice In addition, Cordyceps sinensis has a direct inhibitory effect on the proliferation of laryngeal cancer cells in vitro Antitumor mechanism: in vivo, in vitro experiments and clinical practice have proved that Cordyceps has antitumor effect, and may be related to a variety of components, so the antitumor mechanism of Cordyceps is not unilateral The main results are as follows: 1) direct action: Cordyceps sinensis's anti-tumor active ingredients can directly inhibit the growth of tumor cells by inhibiting the synthesis of nucleic acid, protein or glucose transmembrane transport; 2) indirect effect: the immune response of the body is an important factor affecting the occurrence and development of tumors Cordyceps polysaccharide can promote the proliferation and secretion of immune cells, enhance the function of immune cells, and play an anti-tumor role through host mediated In addition, immune escape is an important reason for the loss of immune function of the body to monitor tumor cells The immune escape phenomenon is caused by tumor cells secreting an inhibitory substance, which causes the down-regulation of MHC gene expression, or the decrease of cytokine responsiveness to host T cells The extract of Cordyceps sinensis can increase the expression of MHC on the surface of tumor cells, so that host immunity can play an effective immune monitoring role on tumor cells with down-regulated expression of MHC type antigen At present, the main antitumor compounds isolated and identified from Cordyceps are sterols, nucleosides, amino acids and peptides, monosaccharides, polysaccharides and organic acids The antitumor effect of cordycepin is related to its inhibition of DNA and RNA synthesis Further studies showed that cordycepin can selectively inhibit mRNA, then affect protein synthesis, and its IC50 on l5178 cell proliferation is 0.27mol/l, which can be cancelled by adenosine This is because cordycepin competes with adenosine for nucleoside phosphatase, which prevents mRNA synthesis In addition, cordycepin can also induce apoptosis of leukemia cells and prolong the s and G2 phases of mitotic cells Although cordycepin has obvious antitumor effect, there is no report of cordycepin isolated or detected from Cordyceps It can be seen that the antitumor effect of cordycepin is not only by cordycepin Because most polysaccharides from microorganisms have antitumor effects, Cordyceps polysaccharide is also concerned Cordyceps polysaccharide (PSCs) 10gl / ml stimulated the formation of blood monocyte clone (pscs2mc2cm), which could inhibit the proliferation of human leukemia U937 cells and promote U937 cells to differentiate into mature monocyte / phagocyte cells The latter could express non-specific esterase (NSE) activity and surface antigens CD11b, CD14 and CD68 The differentiated U937 cells also have the function of phagocytosis and production of superoxide radicals However, Cordyceps polysaccharide or normal mnc-cm had no effect PSCs can significantly improve the levels of interferon (IFN) - tumor necrosis factor (TNF) - α and interleukin (L) - 1 in mnc-cm F - α, both of them can inhibit the proliferation and induce the differentiation of U937 cells, suggesting that Cordyceps polysaccharide can play an anti-tumor role by activating the host immune response A kind of protein binding polysaccharide (sn-c) was isolated from the culture medium of Cordyceps Macrocystis It can significantly prolong the survival of tumor cells (l5179y, Meth-A, MMZ, EL4, P388D1, P338, mm46, mm102 and LS) inoculated mice The antitumor effect of sn-c in vitro may be related to its inhibition of glucose uptake and DNA synthesis The glycosyl part (co-1) of sn-c treated by ultrasound and heating had a certain inhibitory effect on S180, the inhibitory rate of 100 mg / kg IP on mm46 was 62.2%, and the survival period of tumor bearing mice (EAC, L1210, P388 and EL4) was prolonged by 2.5-10.0 mg / kg IP Co-1 IP (5 mg / kg) can significantly increase the number and function of peritoneal macrophages, which peaked 4 days after administration Co-1 does not inhibit the growth of tumor cells in vitro, and its antitumor effect may be related to host mediated After removing co-1, the solution of sn-c was precipitated with 10% NH4OH to obtain galactosamine glucoside (Co-N) Co-N could significantly inhibit the proliferation of S180 tumor cells inoculated intraperitoneally and prolong the survival period of tumor bearing mice (EAC and IMC cancer) When the total dose was the same, the daily dose was more effective than the next day 20-60g / ml Co-N could inhibit the proliferation of MC and p388d cells in vitro Further studies showed that Co-N could bind to EAC cell membrane and inhibit the trans membrane transport of glucose At high dose, Co-N had a direct antitumor effect and at low dose, it played an indirect role through the host The results of structure-activity relationship analysis showed that the antitumor activity of Co-N was independent of its molecular weight It can be inferred that glycoprotein or glycopeptide can combine with specific structure (receptor) on cell membrane, affect cell metabolism process and produce antitumor effect Therefore, some structures of glycoprotein or glycopeptide binding to the receptor (including 1-3 structures) may be necessary for its antitumor activity, while protein-free polysaccharides play an indirect antitumor role by promoting the immune function of the body Studies on the substitution of Cordyceps sinensis mycelium for wild Cordyceps have shown that the efficacy of Cordyceps sinensis is basically the same as that of wild Cordyceps This will greatly relieve the economic pressure of patients In 2010, nacqu Cordyceps sinensis company announced that its nacqu Cordyceps sinensis gel pill (Cordyceps sinensis mycelium) was listed for sale After more than one year's development, the sales volume grew rapidly, which was close to the sales volume of its wild Cordyceps sinensis business.