Antitumor Activity of Polysaccharides Extracted from the Spore Powder of Ganoderma Lucidum (Fr.) Karst

Ganoderma lucidum (Fr.) Karst. has attracted much attention for its antitumor activity and low toxicity. In fact, the spores of G. lucidum may have even higher bioactivity than its fruiting body. However, there is no report on how the polysaccharides from broken spores of G. lucidum may suppress tumor growth. To make up for this gap, this article isolates a type of polysaccharide from the spore powder of G. lucidum and explores its effect on tumor growth in mice bearing 4T1 cells. The results show that the spore powder of G. lucidum could inhibit the tumor growth of 4T1-bearing mice by increasing NK cell numbers in two ways. First, the spore powder of G. lucidum suppresses Tregs to increase the percentage of NK cells, thus killing cancer cells in blood. Second, the spore powder of G. lucidum upregulates the expression of CXCR3, which recruits more NK cells from peripheral blood infiltrating in visceral organs, where NK cells secrete more granzyme B, perforin, and interferon gamma to kill cancer cells. To sum up, our research demonstrates the potential of spore powder of G. lucidum in cancer therapy.