Mushroom extracts and compounds with suppressive action on breast cancer: evidence from studies using cultured cancer cells, tumor-bearing animals, and clinical trials.

This article reviews mushrooms with anti-breast cancer activity. The mushrooms covered which are better known include the following: button mushroom Agaricus bisporus, Brazilian mushroom Agaricus blazei, Amauroderma rugosum, stout camphor fungus Antrodia camphorata, Jew's ear (black) fungus or black wood ear fungus Auricularia auricula-judae, reishi mushroom or Lingzhi Ganoderma lucidum, Ganoderma sinense, maitake mushroom or sheep's head mushroom Grifola frondosa, lion's mane mushroom or monkey head mushroom Hericium erinaceum, brown beech mushroom Hypsizigus marmoreus, sulfur polypore mushroom Laetiporus sulphureus, Lentinula edodes (shiitake mushroom), Phellinus linteus (Japanese "meshimakobu," Chinese "song gen," Korean "sanghwang," American "black hoof mushroom"), abalone mushroom Pleurotus abalonus, king oyster mushroom Pleurotus eryngii, oyster mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus, tuckahoe or Fu Ling Poria cocos, and split gill mushroom Schizophyllum commune. Antineoplastic effectiveness in human clinical trials and mechanism of anticancer action have been reported for Antrodia camphorata, Cordyceps sinensis, Coriolus versicolor, Ganoderma lucidum, Grifola frondosa, and Lentinula edodes.

New ribosome-inactivating proteins and other proteins with protein synthesis-inhibiting activities.

Ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIPs) consist of three varieties. Type 1 RIPs are single-chained and approximately 30-kDa in molecular weight. Type 2 RIPs are double-chained and composed of a type 1 RIP chain and a lectin chain. Type III RIPs, such as maize b-32 barley and JIP60 which are produced as single-domain proenzymes, possess an N-terminal domain corresponding to the A domain of RIPs and fused to a C-terminal domain. In addition to the aforementioned three types of RIPs originating from flowering plants, there are recently discovered proteins and peptides with ribosome-inactivating and protein synthesis inhibitory activities but which are endowed with characteristics such as molecular weights distinctive from those of the regular RIPs. These new/unusual RIPs discussed in the present review encompass metazoan RIPs from Anopheles and Culex mosquitos, antimicrobial peptides derived from RIP of the pokeweed Phytolacca dioica, maize RIP (a type III RIP derived from a precursor form), RIPs from the garden pea and the kelp. In addition, RIPs with a molecular weight smaller than those of regular type 1 RIPs are produced by plants in the Cucurbitaceae family including the bitter gourd, bottle gourd, sponge gourd, ridge gourd, wax gourd, hairy gourd, pumpkin, and Chinese cucumber. A small type II RIP from camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora) seeds and a snake gourd type II RIP with its catalytic chain cleaved into two have been reported. RIPs produced from mushrooms including the golden needle mushroom, king tuber mushroom, straw mushroom, and puffball mushroom are also discussed in addition to a type II RIP from the mushroom Polyporus umbellatus. Bacterial (Spiroplasma) RIPs associated with the fruitfly, Shiga toxin, and Streptomyces coelicolor RIP are also dealt with. The aforementioned proteins display a diversity of molecular weights, amino acid sequences, and mechanisms of action. Some of them are endowed with exploitable antipathogenic activities.