Ethnopharmacological relevance: Antrodia camphorata (AC) is a well known traditional Chinese medicinal
mushroom in Taiwan, has been used to treat various diseases including cancer.
Materials and methods: In this study, we investigated the anti-metastatic and anti-EMT properties of a
fermented culture broth of AC in human colon SW480claudin−1- and metastatic SW620claudin−1+ cancer cells in
vitro.
Results: AC down-regulates claudin-1 and inhibits the proliferation and colony-formation abilities of both
SW620claudin−1+ and SW480claudin−1- cells. In highly metastatic SW620claudin−1+ cells, non-cytotoxic concentrations
of AC significantly inhibited migration/invasion, accompanied by the down-regulation of MMP-2 and
MMP-9 proteins. AC decreased nuclear translocation of Wnt/β-catenin through a GSK3β-dependent pathway.
AC consistently inhibited EMT by up-regulating the epithelial and downregulating the mesenchymal marker
proteins. In SW480claudin−1- cells, AC suppressed migration/invasion potentially through the inhibition of the
PI3K/AKT/NFκB signaling pathways without altering the expression levels of β-catenin and GSK3β proteins.
Conclusion: Altogether, this study demonstrates the anti-metastatic and anti-EMT activities of AC, which may
contribute to the development of a chemopreventive agent for colon cancer.
