Ling Zhi-8 reduces lung cancer mobility and metastasis through disruption of focal adhesion and induction of MDM2-mediated Slug degradation.

We recently reported that recombinant Ling Zhi-8 (rLZ-8), a medicinal mushroom Ganoderma lucidum recombinant protein, effectively prevents lung cancer cells proliferation in vivo mice model. In our current study, we demonstrated that rLZ-8 suppressed tumor metastasis and increased the survival rate in Lewis lung carcinoma cell-bearing mice. The epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) process is regarded as the critical event in tumor metastasis. Herein, we showed that rLZ-8 effectively induced changes in EMT by interfering with cell adhesion and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) functions in lung cancer cells. Slug, a transcription factor, represses E-cadherin transcription and is regarded as a critical event in EMT and tumor metastasis. Functional studies revealed that downregulation of Slug as a result of rLZ-8-induced FAK inactivation enhanced E-cadherin expression and repressed cancer cell mobility. Moreover, we found that rLZ-8 enhanced the ubiquitination proteasome pathway (UPP)-mediated degradation of Slug in CL1-5 cells. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that rLZ-8 promoted the interaction between MDM2 and Slug, resulting in Slug degradation; however, MDM2-shRNA abolished rLZ-8-enhanced Slug degradation. This study is the first to determine anti-metastatic activity of rLZ-8 and its potential mechanism, with how the regulation of EMT and cell mobility is via the negative modulation of FAK, and thereby leading to the ubiquitination and degradation of Slug. Our findings suggest that the targets of FAK play a key role in metastasis. Moreover, rLZ-8 may be useful as a chemotherapeutic agent for treating lung cancer.