Ganoderma atrum polysaccharide evokes antitumor activity via cAMP-PKA mediated apoptotic pathway and down-regulation of Ca(2+)/PKC signal pathway.

Ganoderma atrum polysaccharide (PSG-1) has been commonly suggested as a candidate for prevention and therapy of cancer. We investigated the antitumor effect and the underlying molecular mechanisms of PSG-1. The results showed that PSG-1 inhibited tumor growth and resulted in tumor cell apoptosis in vivo. Here, the data revealed that PSG-1 caused a markedly increase in cAMP and PKA activities, rather than cGMP and PKC. Moreover, the treatment of PSG-1 induced a dramatic increase in the protein level of PKA. In contrast, the expression of PKC and intracellular [Ca(2+)]i were inhibited. Our study also revealed that treatment with PSG-1 increased the spleen and thymus weights, lymphocyte proliferation and macrophage phagocytic activity in tumor-bearing mice. Taken together, we conclude that PSG-1 could inhibit the tumor growth, possibly in part by enhancing the induction of apoptosis through cAMP-PKA signaling pathway and down-regulation of Ca(2+)/PKC signal pathway, activating host immune function in S180-bearing mice.