Ganoderma lucidum Fruiting Body Dry Extract inhibits cell proliferation and induces apoptosis in breast cancer cells by activating both caspase-8 and caspase-9.

Breast cancer is one of the most prominent causes of mortality among women worldwide due to factors such as aggressive behavior of the cancer and resistance to chemotherapeutic agents. Resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs in cancer treatment is a common phenomenon, especially in progressive diseases with a high prevalence. Therefore the current study aimed to demonstrate the anti-cancer effects of GL on MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cell lines. We showed the effect of GL on cell proliferation using the MTS method, its effect on clone formation with a clonogenic test, and we also evaluated whether the apoptotic pathway was activated by western blot. GL significantly inhibited cell proliferation depending on the dose in MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cell lines and it significantly reduced the number of colonies compared to non-treated cells. In addition, GL induced the initiation of apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells, as evidenced by an enhanced level of caspase-8 and caspase-9 and decreased expression of PARP. These results demonstrated the molecular mechanism underlying the anti-cancer effects of GL, suggesting that GL might be useful in anticancer therapy. Novel products, such as GL, undoubtedly have promise for the future.