Cloud mushroom contains several saccharides including polysaccharide peptide (PSP) and polysaccharide-K (PSK, krestin). The protein bound polysaccharides have been found to be immune-modulating and anti-tumor, and their polypeptide moieties are rich in aspartic acid and glutamic acid. By gas chromatography and HPLC, PSP has proved that in addition to glucose, it also contains five other monosaccharides – mannose, xylose, galactose, rhamnose and arabinose. The polysaccharide peptides can be found in the mycelium, while the fruiting body mainly contains polysaccharides
Category Archives: Prostate Cancer
Chemopreventive Effect of PSP Through Targeting of Prostate Cancer Stem Cell-Like Population
Recent evidence suggested that prostate cancer stem/progenitor cells (CSC) are responsible for cancer initiation as well as disease progression. Unfortunately, conventional therapies are only effective in targeting the more differentiated cancer cells and spare the CSCs. Here, we report that PSP, an active component extracted from the mushroom Turkey tail (also known as Coriolus versicolor), is effective in targeting prostate CSCs. We found that treatment of the prostate cancer cell line PC-3 with PSP led to the down-regulation of CSC markers (CD133 and CD44) in a time and dose-dependent manner. Meanwhile, PSP treatment not only suppressed the ability of PC-3 cells to form prostaspheres under non-adherent culture conditions, but also inhibited their tumorigenicity in vivo, further proving that PSP can suppress prostate CSC properties. To investigate if the anti-CSC effect of PSP may lead to prostate cancer chemoprevention, transgenic mice (TgMAP) that spontaneously develop prostate tumors were orally fed with PSP for 20 weeks. Whereas 100% of the mice that fed with water only developed prostate tumors at the end of experiment, no tumors could be found in any of the mice fed with PSP, suggesting that PSP treatment can completely inhibit prostate tumor formation. Our results not only demonstrated the intriguing anti-CSC effect of PSP, but also revealed, for the first time, the surprising chemopreventive property of oral PSP consumption against prostate cancer.
Mushroom Compound Suppresses Prostate Tumors
ScienceDaily (May 24, 2011) — A mushroom used in Asia for its medicinal benefits has been found to be 100 percent effective in suppressing prostate tumour development in mice during early trials, new Queensland University of Technology (QUT) research shows.
The compound, polysaccharopeptide (PSP), which is extracted from the ‘turkey tail’ mushroom, was found to target prostate cancer stem cells and suppress tumour formation in mice, according to an article written by senior research fellow Dr Patrick Ling in the online journal PLoS ONE, published by the Public Library of Science.
Dr Ling, from the Australian Prostate Cancer Research Centre-Queensland and Institute for Biomedical Health & Innovation (IHBI) at QUT, said the results could be an important step towards fighting a disease that kills 3,000 Australian men a year.
“The findings are quite significant,” Dr Ling said.
“What we wanted to demonstrate was whether that compound could stop the development of prostate tumours in the first place.
“In the past, other inhibitors tested in research trials have been shown to be up to 70 percent effective, but we’re seeing 100 percent of this tumour prevented from developing with PSP.
“Importantly, we did not see any side effects from the treatment.”
Dr Ling said conventional therapies were only effective in targeting certain cancer cells, not cancer stem cells, which initiated cancer and caused the disease to progress.
During the research trial, which was done in collaboration with The University of Hong Kong and Provital Pty Ltd, transgenic mice that developed prostate tumours were fed PSP for 20 weeks.
Dr Ling said no tumours were found in any of the mice fed PSP, whereas mice not given the treatment developed prostate tumours. He said the research suggested that PSP treatment could completely inhibit prostate tumour formation.
“Our findings support that PSP may be a potent preventative agent against prostate cancer, possibly through targeting of the prostate cancer stem cell population,” he said.
He said PSP had been previously shown to possess anti-cancer properties, and ‘turkey tail’ mushrooms (known as Coriolus versicolor or Yun-zhi) had been widely used in Asia for medicinal benefits.
However, Dr Ling said it was the first time it had been demonstrated that PSP had anti-cancer stem cell effects.
Although ‘turkey tail’ mushrooms had valuable health properties, Dr Ling said it would not be possible to get the same benefit his research showed from simply eating them.
A fundraiser has been organised in September to support further tests for the therapeutic potential of PSP against prostate tumours either alone or in combination with other anti-cancer compounds.
Cell growth and gene modulatory activities of Yunzhi (Windsor Wunxi) from mushroom Trametes versicolor in androgen-dependent and androgen-insensitive human prostate cancer cells. TC Hsieh, JM Wu. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595, USA. The incidence
The incidence of prostate cancer varies greatly throughout the world; it is highest in African-Americans and lowest in the Asian populations of China, India, and Japan. Geographical differences in both prevalence of latent prostate cancer and mortality have been postulated to be influenced by diverse tumor-promoting and protective factors, both environmental and dietary. Prostate cancer is a tumor with an extremely long latency; the pattern of prostate tumorigenesis, in terms of the display and sequence of appearance of particular molecular or biochemical features, or morphological changes, characterizing different stages of the carcinogenic process, is expected to be heterogeneous. Some insights into tumor heterogeneity and progression can be obtained from studies using cell lines, particularly those derived from different anatomical sites. The present study aims to investigate whether hormone-responsive LNCaP and androgen-refractory JCA-1, PC-3, and DU-145 prostate cancer cells are responsive to Yunzhi (YZ), a proprietary dietary supplement prepared from extracts of Trametes versicolor, also known as Coriolus versicolor (a mushroom consumed by Chinese for its purported health benefits), and to elucidate its mechanism of action. Ethanolic extracts (70%) of YZ significantly reduced LNCaP cell growth, down-regulated the levels of secreted PSA, but had less effects on the expression of intracellular PSA and did not affect levels of the androgen receptor. In androgen-unresponsive prostate cancer cells, YZ had a much less pronounced suppressive effect on proliferation of PC-3 and DU-145 cells, compared to LNCaP, and was inactive against JCA-1 cells. Western blot analyses show that the expression of Rb, a key regulatory protein in G1/S transition, and PCNA, integrally involved in mammalian cell DNA replication, were significantly reduced by treatment with YZ in PC-3 and DU-145 cells, respectively. In contradiction, none of these biochemical parameters were affected in JCA-1 cells under identical treatment conditions. Further analysis shows that YZ increased the levels of signal transducer and activator family of transcription factors STAT 1 and STAT 3 in JCA-1 and not LNCaP cells. The greater sensitivity of LNCaP cells to this polysaccharopeptide raises the possibility that YZ may be considered as an adjuvant therapy in the treatment of hormone responsive prostate cancer; additionally, it may have chemopreventive potential to restrict prostate tumorigenic progression from the hormone-dependent to the hormone-refractory state.
Cell growth and gene modulatory activities of Yunzhi (Windsor Wunxi) from mushroom Trametes versicolor in androgen-dependent and androgen-insensitive human prostate cancer cells.
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595, USA.
Abstract
The incidence of prostate cancer varies greatly throughout the world; it is highest in African-Americans and lowest in the Asian populations of China, India, and Japan. Geographical differences in both prevalence of latent prostate cancer and mortality have been postulated to be influenced by diverse tumor-promoting and protective factors, both environmental and dietary. Prostate cancer is a tumor with an extremely long latency; the pattern of prostate tumorigenesis, in terms of the display and sequence of appearance of particular molecular or biochemical features, or morphological changes, characterizing different stages of the carcinogenic process, is expected to be heterogeneous. Some insights into tumor heterogeneity and progression can be obtained from studies using cell lines, particularly those derived from different anatomical sites. The present study aims to investigate whether hormone-responsive LNCaP and androgen-refractory JCA-1, PC-3, and DU-145 prostate cancer cells are responsive to Yunzhi (YZ), a proprietary dietary supplement prepared from extracts of Trametes versicolor, also known as Coriolus versicolor (a mushroom consumed by Chinese for its purported health benefits), and to elucidate its mechanism of action. Ethanolic extracts (70%) of YZ significantly reduced LNCaP cell growth, down-regulated the levels of secreted PSA, but had less effects on the expression of intracellular PSA and did not affect levels of the androgen receptor. In androgen-unresponsive prostate cancer cells, YZ had a much less pronounced suppressive effect on proliferation of PC-3 and DU-145 cells, compared to LNCaP, and was inactive against JCA-1 cells. Western blot analyses show that the expression of Rb, a key regulatory protein in G1/S transition, and PCNA, integrally involved in mammalian cell DNA replication, were significantly reduced by treatment with YZ in PC-3 and DU-145 cells, respectively. In contradiction, none of these biochemical parameters were affected in JCA-1 cells under identical treatment conditions. Further analysis shows that YZ increased the levels of signal transducer and activator family of transcription factors STAT 1 and STAT 3 in JCA-1 and not LNCaP cells. The greater sensitivity of LNCaP cells to this polysaccharopeptide raises the possibility that YZ may be considered as an adjuvant therapy in the treatment of hormone responsive prostate cancer; additionally, it may have chemopreventive potential to restrict prostate tumorigenic progression from the hormone-dependent to the hormone-refractory state.
PMID: 11115542 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11115542
Antitumor effects of residual tumor after cryoablation: the combined effect of residual tumor and a protein-bound polysaccharide on multiple liver metastases in a murine model
Masato Urano, Chihiro Tanaka, Yasuyuki Sugiyama, Kiichi Miya, and Shigetoyo Saji*
Cryoablation is a low-invasive surgical treatment for malignant tumors. It may induce an immunological response leading to the eradication of distant metastases or alternatively it might promote the growth of residual tumors. In this paper we confirm the occurrence of both phenomena and we describe the preventive effect of a protein-bound polysaccharide preparation. Metastatic liver tumors were produced in BALB/c mice by the intrasplenic inoculation of colon 26 cells and cryoablation was carried out usingliquid nitrogen ()170C) applied by a contact method. The value of combiningcryoablation with administration of the polysaccharide preparation in the prevention of growth of residual tumors was investigated. It was shown that the number of metastatic liver nodules and the size of the primary tumor at the site of inoculation in the spleen were significantly lower when the volume that was frozen was small. The production by splenocytes of the tumor necrosis factor TNF-a, interferon INF-c, and the interleukins IL-4 and IL-10 increased significantly after freezing and thawing of the tumor tissue. The polysaccharide treatment significantly reduced the production of IL-4 and IL-10 followingcryoablation; the production of TNF-a and INF-c was slightly promoted; the natural killer and cytotoxic T-cell activities of splenocytes were slightly enhanced. It was concluded that the polysaccharide preparation was beneficial by suppressing IL-4 and IL-10 production and might inhibit the growth of residual tumor that is sometimes induced by large-volume cryoablation.
Coriolus Versicolor – The Miracle Mushroom
This extract taken from quantumhealing.co.za details various trials and treatments of Coriolus Veriscola.
It shrank his liver tumor by 90%––after his doctor gave up on him.
A man describes his oncologist as “the most negative man I ever met.” The doctor treated Mr. G. for liver cancer for six years, then gave him up as untreatable. “After the chemo failed, he threw up his hands, shrugged his shoulders, wished me good luck, and said there was nothing else he could do,” according to Mr. G. “And surgery couldn’t be performed either, because the consulting surgeon saw that the tumor was wrapped around my vena cava blood vessel.”
Mr G. told his oncologist, “I totally reject what you are telling me. I do not accept that nothing can be done to affect the outcome of this disease.” The doctor said, “Well, I know what I’m talking about when it comes to cancer. I’m a scientist.”
Mr G. shot back, “Yes, but you’re not God!” Four years later the patient was healthy again after using the type of therapies known as CAIM (complementary/ alternative/integrative medicine), especially including capsules containing the powdered extract of a mushroom, Coriolus versicolor. Mr G. learned about the remedy on the Internet and he can tell you all about it, having downloaded nearly 400 studies.
Amazingly, Mr. G.’s liver cancer reduced to less than ten percent of its original size. His CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen) cancer marker fell more than two-thirds from 296 to 97.9.
What is Coriolus Versicolor?
Like all mushrooms, Coriolus versicolor is a fungus, one of more than a half million varieties worldwide. Many of them have been known for thousands of years to have medicinal properties. And as you may know, gourmets the world over prize both wild and commercially grown mushrooms. Some European cookbooks even call them “flowers of the fall.” Whatever you call them, certain mushrooms are a perfect food for staying trim and healthy. They have little or no fat and some species, like Coriolusversicolor, boast valuable therapeutic and nutritional benefits. But a few fungi are poisonous and we do not recommend that nonexperts attempt to harvest their own. Coriolus versicolor goes by a number of botanical names, including Trametes versicolor and Boletus versicolor.
“Versicolor” refers to the mushroom’s various colors. In North America, the common name is “turkey tail,” while in Japan it is called by a name meaning “mushroom by the river bank” and in China its name indicates it’s a cloud fungus that grows best in the rain.
Over 400 clinical studies have shown that a purified extract derived from the mushroom Coriolus versicolor offers strong benefits for the immune system. Clinical studies indicate the extract’s ingredients are especially effective against stomach, uterine, colon and lung cancer.
Anecdotal evidence and clinical experience suggest it also works well against prostate, breast, liver and colorectal cancer. Studies of rats and mice show that this mushroom is effective against many experimental animal cancers such as sarcoma and hepatoma.
Martha I.’s lung cancers disappear
“Of course,” says Dr. Bailey, “some cancer patients take Coriolus versicolor even while they engage in radiation treatment or chemotherapy. Or the patients don’t submit to chemotherapy or radiotherapy at all but rely, instead, exclusively on nutritional therapies with the medicinal mushroom as the main treatment ingredient.
“For example, one of my patients, Martha I., a 34-year-old woman working in the health field, consulted me with a cancer spreading at two sites in her lungs. Orthodox treatment had been tried but no longer was effective. She discontinued her smoking of two cigarette packs a day and embarked on nutritional therapies.
The nutrients included Martha’s completing six months of taking Coriolus versicolor. After this halfyear, radiological examination showed that all of her lung tumors had disappeared. Seeing her current progress, orthodox medicine probably would declare this patient to be cured.”
Blood tests show how the mushroom boosts immunity
I spoke with a doctor who measures natural killer cell (NK) counts and considers them a valuable cancer
marker. Kenneth Bock, M.D., is the medical director of two holistic medical clinics, one in Rhinebeck, New York and the other in Albany. “Because it increases natural killer (NK) cell activity, I think of using Coriolus versicolor mainly when I’m confronted with a patient suffering from cancer or a viral infection,” he says. “This mushroom is one of the main medicinal compounds I use to boost a diminished blood reading which records NK activity. The mushroom’s active biological response modifier produces a marked improvement in NK cell function and number, something I monitor by blood testing. If the blood reading is low, my patient takes greater amounts of PSK capsules. And, although it’s an expensive and sophisticated assay, I repeat my NK cell testing inside of a month or two. In a number of patients, I’ve seen some nice blood test improvement.”
Dr. Bock finds that a few patients with advanced metastatic cancer see their NK counts jump from 2 or 3 to a normal 20 to 50.
Patient’s immune system recovers
“I can illustrate what I’m saying by providing a before-and-after case history plus the literature that backs my claim,” Dr. Bock states. His patient was a white, married computer consultant named Marty E., sixty years old and suffering from high blood pressure and arteriosclerosis when he was also found to have polyps on his larynx. These were removed, with radiation therapy as a follow-up. But then Marty E. was also found to have prostate cancer.
“His blood test showed diminished natural killer cell activity at the level of 6 m/u,” Dr. Bock states. “Still, Marty wanted no conventional therapy for prostate cancer. So I started him on alternative medical therapies for prostate cancer and to improve his deficient NK cell activity. Coriolus versicolor was a definite part of his treatment regimen.
“Within two months, the patient’s NK cell activity elevated to 18 m/u. And two months after that his NK cell activity increased to a normal 31 m/u. Now the man is doing well physically, and he tells me he feels great! I would say this type of response to the PSK therapy is usual; the patient’s quality of life does improve dramatically and he or she feels asense of well-being,” according to Dr. Bock.
A naturpathic doctor named Tori Hudson told of her clinical experience using PSK for breast cancer patients during and after chemotherapy. “My impression is that patients taking Coriolus versicolor are experiencing less side effects from chemotherapy such as diminished fatigue, less nausea (but not less hair loss), and more stable white blood cell counts. I have not measured natural killer cell counts,” she states.
Animal studies confirm what patients see for themselves
Animal studies show PSK is effective against a long list of cancers including melanoma, sarcoma, mammary cancer, colon cancer and lung cancer. Studies also show it inhibits metastasis to other sites. The studies indicate PSK enhances the immune system and battles cancer cells. It’s been shown to prolong the survival time and stimulate the production of cancer antibodies in mice with cancer.
PSK is also a potent antiviral remedy that may hold new hope for HIV-AIDS. It even lowers cholesterol in animals and speeds up recovery from burns in rabbits when used in combination with the herb Astragalus membranaceus.
Can be used in combination with conventional treatments
Human patients who have decided to stick with conventional chemotherapy and radiation therapy need to know that PSK renders these toxic treatments much more effective, as shown by a number of clinical studies.
A Japanese study looked at the effectiveness of 200 phytochemicals (plant substances) when used in combination with chemotherapy and radiation. Coriolus versicolor was found to be the best of the bunch. The researchers suggest that this medicinal mushroom seems to protect the immune system from being suppressed by prolonged use of chemotherapy drugsand by the cancer itself.
Further investigations indicate a marked improvement in the survival rates of chemo and radiationpatients taking the mushroom therapy when compared with those who did not. For patients with Stage I lung cancer observed over ten years, the tumor shrinkage and survival rate was 39 percent for those taking PSK compared to only 16 percent for patients receiving the toxic therapies without the mushroom extract. That’s a huge difference––more than twice as many survived and/or improved with the help of PSK.
Those lung cancer patients with more serious Stage II cancer experienced a 22 percent tumor shrinkage and survival rate over ten years when they took Coriolus versicolor orally while being treated with chemo or radiation. Among the people who didn’t take the herbal remedy the figure was a mere five percent.
From this study of 185 lung cancer patients it appears the mushroom extract can make the toxic therapies anywhere from two to four times more effective.
A Japanese study of 262 gastric cancer patients tested the mushroom’s efficacy following surgery. During a follow-up period ranging from five to seven years, the half who received the mushroom extract survived at substantially higher rates. The researchers concluded that PSK was a useful adjunctive therapy to surgery and chemo.
A Japanese study of breast cancer patients found similar results: Those who received PSK along with chemotherapy had better outcomes than those who did not. And a study of 28 patients suffering from acute leukemia––all on chemotherapy––showed an average survival time of 21 months for those who took the mushroom extract and 12 months for those who did not.