Hericium erinaceus synergizing with doxorubicin induced SGC7901 cell apoptosis

Our study was to investigate the impact of Hericium erinaceus on the antitumor effects of doxorubicin (DOX) in gastric cancer cell line SGC7901 and explore the possible mechanism. Hot water extracts of the fruiting body of Hericium erinaceus were used in the study. Hot water extraction was fractionated by DEAE-cellulose and Sepharose CL-6B column chromatography. The purified components (HE) primarily consisted a low-molecular-mass (13 kDa) 1,3-branched-β-1,6-glucan with a triple helix conformation, which we used the concentration of 100 μg/ mL in combination with 0-10 μg/mL DOX for the treatment of SGC7901 for 24 h. Cell viability was measured by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and trypan blue exclusion. Apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, MMP disruption and ROS production were determined by flow cytometry. We also detected caspase-3 activity by a kit and the expression of caspase-3, proand anti-apoptotic proteins, HIF-1α by western blotting (WB). MTT analysis and annexin V-FITC/PI double staining showed that HE alone nearly did not induce SGC7901 cells death under 100 μg/mL while 100 μg/mL HE decreased the IC50 of DOX on SGC7901 cells to 5 μg/mL. Flow cytometry analysis showed that 100 μg/mL HE elevated DOX-induced ROS and the expression of HIF-1α was downregulated by WB detecting. Our results indicate that Hericium erinaceus extract (HE) combined with doxorubicin (DOX) maybe a novel strategy for the treatment of human gastric cancer.