Abstract

Androgen-independent prostate cancer accounts for mortality in the world. In this study, various extracts of a medical fungus dubbed Ganoderma formosanum were screened for inhibition of DU145 cells, an androgen-independent prostate cancer cell line. Results demonstrated that both hexane (GF-EH) and butanol (GF-EB) fraction of G. formosanum ethanol extract inhibited DU145 cell viability in a dose-dependent manner. GF-EH induced cell-cycle arrest in G1 phase of DU145 cells via downregulation of cyclin E2 protein expression. In addition, GF-EB triggered extrinsic apoptosis of DU145 cells by activating caspase 3 gene expression resulting in programed cell death. Above all, both GF-EH and GF-EB show lower toxicity to normal human fibroblast cell line compared to DU145 cell, implying that they possess specific drug action on cancer cells. This study provides a molecular basis of G. formosanum extract as a potential ingredient for treatment of androgen-independent prostate cancer.