Anti-cancer effects of lucidadiol against malignant melanoma cells

Abstract

Melanoma is one of the most aggressive and lethal skin cancers. Lucidadiol is a triterpenoid isolated from Ganoderma lucidum and is known to have various biological functions, including antibacterial effects. However, the anti-cancer effects and mechanism of action of lucidadiol in malignant melanoma are unknown. In this study, lucidadiol significantly reduced B16 melanoma cell viability in a dose- and time-dependent manner. In addition, lucidadiol induced apoptosis and suppressed cell mobility in B16 melanoma cells. Moreover, our findings revealed that lucidadiol remarkably downregulated phospho-Akt/ERK/JNK, but not p38. Taken together, our results suggest that lucidadiol could exerts its anti-cancer effects by inducing apoptosis via modulation of the Akt/MAPK pathway. Therefore, lucidadiol may be a potential cancer therapeutic agent for malignant melanoma.