Cytotoxic Activities of Ethanolic Crude Extracts from Fruiting Bodies of Bamboo Mushrooms (Dictyophora spp.) Against Cholangiocarcinoma Cells

Abstract

Introduction: Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a highly progressive tumor. The standard chemotherapy varies in its effectiveness, with generally low efficacy. Thus, the discovery of novel chemotherapy is still required. Dictyophora spp. or bamboo mushrooms are a group of fungi in the family Phallaceae which several activities have been reported both in vitro and in vivo but never been tested with cholangiocarcinoma.
Objectives: The objective of this preliminary study was to determine the cytotoxic effects induced by three kinds of bamboo mushrooms (Dictyophora indusiata or Chinese bamboo mushroom; Ch-DTP, Short skirt bamboo mushroom (Thai isolate); Th-DTP, and orange skirt bamboo mushroom; Or-DTP) on CCA cells. CCA cell lines including CL-6, HuCCT1, HuH28, and OUMS normal fibroblast cells were treated with various concentrations of DTP extracts.
Methods: The MTT assay was used to determine cytotoxicity, and cell morphology was observed by using phase-contrast microscopy.
Results: The results suggested that Ch-DTP effectively killed all three CCA cell lines in both low (0.3 mg/mL) and high (0.6 mg/mL) doses, but Th-DTP and Or-DTP had significantly reduced cell viability only at high doses (P < .001). Ch-DTP had the best effect by showing a response of more than 50% at a concentration of 0.3 mg/mL. Th-DTP had moderate effects at a concentration of lower than 0.6 mg/mL but worthwhile at higher concentrations, whereas Or-DTP had limited effects at concentrations of 0.4 mg/mL and downward, although the effects were significantly increased in the higher concentration range. Morphology of the Ch-DTP treated cells was greatly transformed both at low and high doses, but Th-DTP and Or-DTP showed definite alteration only at high doses. The morphological changes revealed apoptotic induction. In OUMS cells, no effects were recognized with any of the three DTPs.
Conclusions: This study indicated that DTP extracts could induce cytotoxicity in cholangiocarcinoma, with a high potential of being an effective therapeutic agent.