Proteomic analysis of the effect of Antrodia camphorata extract on human lung cancer A549 cell.

Antrodia camphorata (niu-chang-chih) is a fungus native to Taiwan that is believed to be effective in preventing diseases. This study demonstrates that 0.2-2% v/v ethanol extracts of A. camphorata cultivated by solid-state fermentation (SACE) can effectively impede the proliferation of human non-small cell lung carcinoma A549 cells but not primary human fetal lung fibroblast MRC-5. The results of apoptotic analyses implicate that SACE might trigger the apoptosis in the A549 cells by inducing endoplasmic reticulum stress. Two-dimensional gel maps of non-treated and treated A549 cells were compared using PDQUEST analytical software to discover five statistically significant twofold or above-twofold differentially-expressed protein spots. The five protein spots that were significantly de-regulated were chosen for subsequent identification by high performance liquid chromatography electro-spray tandem mass spectrometry. The five proteins were later identified as human galectin-1, human eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A, human Rho GDP dissociation inhibitor alpha, human calcium-dependent protease small subunit and human annexin V. All five proteins were confirmed to be down-regulated by Western blotting. The analytical results of this study help to provide insight into the effect of SACE on the gene expression of the tumor cells.