1. Pretreatment with an ethanolic extract of Taiwanofungus camphoratus (Antrodia camphorata) enhances the cytotoxic effects of amphotericin B
- Author
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Der Zen Liu, Ming Thau Sheu, Wen Sen Lee, Hsiu O. Ho, Ching-Hua Su, Yaun Soon Ho, Woei Yao Kao, Ling Yi Chen, and Chuh Kai Liao
- Subjects
Male ,Antifungal Agents ,Taiwan ,Mice, Nude ,Antineoplastic Agents ,Apoptosis ,Traditional Chinese medicine ,Pharmacology ,Mice ,Amphotericin B ,Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols ,medicine ,Cytotoxic T cell ,Animals ,Humans ,Antrodia ,Cytotoxicity ,biology ,Ethanol ,Chemistry ,General Chemistry ,biology.organism_classification ,Triterpenes ,Taiwanofungus camphoratus ,Cancer cell ,Colonic Neoplasms ,General Agricultural and Biological Sciences ,HT29 Cells ,medicine.drug - Abstract
Taiwanofungus camphoratus, a well-known Chinese medicine used in Taiwan, possesses several pharmacological functions, including anticancer effects. In the present study, we aimed to investigate a novel anticancer effect by pretreating cancer cells with an ethanolic extract of T. camphoratus (TCEE) followed by the administration of an antifungal agent amphotericin B (AmB). Both TCEE and AmB showed significant dose-dependent cytotoxicity in HT29 cells. Pretreatment with a nontoxic dose of TCEE enhanced the cytotoxicity of AmB. Furthermore, significant apoptotic cell death was found in cells treated with TCEE and AmB. A combination treatment with AmB plus TCEE resulted in a significant repression of tumor growth in HT29 xenografts. Collectively, our results indicated that combined treatment with AmB and TCEE effectively induced apoptosis and inhibited tumor growth. In the future, TCEE may serve as a potential complementary and alternative medicine to treat patients suffering from colorectal cancer.
- Published
- 2011