Fungi Fighting Cancer

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The causes for cancer range from a multitude of sources, including foods we ingest, pollutants in the air and exposure to UV light. This month, cancer research UK published an eye-opening report outlining the current predictions for the rise in cancer, stating "Cancer cases will rise from the 384,000 diagnosed each year now, to over half a million by 2040" CRUK state that the rise in cases is mainly attributed to the growing and ageing population and 4 in 10 cases are caused by preventable risk factors (CRUK.,2023). By including different anti-oxidative compounds in our diet, we can break down carcinogenic toxins that can damage DNA which can lead to cancer.

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Antioxidants are compounds which detoxify toxins in the body such as free-radicals and reactive oxygen species. These toxins have been vastly studied and have been found to be a cause of many diseases including neurodegenerative diseases (Maddu.,2019; Adibhatla R,Hatcher J.,2010), Male infertility (Amor et al.,2021), cardiovascular disease (Maddu.,2019) and several cancers (Adewumi et al.,2021)

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Phenolic compounds (PC's) are some of the most widely distributed groups of secondary metabolites in plants, they're found in plant tissues within a large range of common foods including cereals, tea, coffee, fruits, vegetables, Herbs and spices. They are a natural defence system for the plants against insects and other animals alongside performing other roles such as pigmentation (Mandal et al.,2010; Reis, Giada.,2013) to attract pollinators. Some Phenolic compounds can be toxic to microbes and/or animals, being applied as antimicrobials as a result. These are generally the short chain or monomeric forms (Mandal et al.,2010). The most notably identified antioxidant PCs are flavonoids, tannins, chalcones, coumarins and phenolic acids.

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Laccases are wildly distributed among plants, fungi, bacteria and insects (Khatami et al.,2022). They catalyse the oligomerisation of several phenolic compounds, which detoxifies them as environmental pollutants or amplifies their activity as antioxidants and converts them into polyphenols with potent antioxidative, anti-tumour and anti-biotic effects (Aruwa et al.,2022; Riva.,2006). This means it can help neutralise carcinogenic compounds, reduce tumours and help the body fight off disease alongside reducing environmental pollution(Baldrian.,2002; Zhang et al.,2023). Several studies highlight the abundance of Laccases able to enhance biological activity of PCs, in a range of fungi, including Pleurotus ostreatus (oyster mushroom)(Baldrian.,2002), and a range of Trametes species. These include T. hirsuta (Zhang et al.,2023), T. trogii (Campos et al.,2016) and T. versicolor (Han et al.,2005).

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I should note that there is research which suggests that some antioxidants can behave as pro-oxidants under certain cases and may enhance tumour growth (Jomova et al.,2019; Sakihama.,2002). Therefore, care should be taken with antioxidant intake in cancer patients and they should always consult a doctor first.

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Pictures are of several varieties of Trametes Versicolor, showing their vibrant diversity.

References

Adewumi Akanji, M., Demilade Fatinukun, H., Emmanuel Rotimi, D., Lawrence Afolabi, B., & Stephen Adeyemi, O. (2021). The Two Sides of Dietary Antioxidants in Cancer Therapy. In Antioxidants - Benefits, Sources, Mechanisms of Action. IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.94988

Adibhatla, R. M., & Hatcher, J. F. (2010). Lipid Oxidation and Peroxidation in CNS Health and Disease: From Molecular Mechanisms to Therapeutic Opportunities. Antioxidants & Redox Signaling, 12(1), 125–169. https://doi.org/10.1089/ars.2009.2668

Amor, H., Shelko, N., Mohammed, M., Michael Jankowski, P., & Eid Hammadeh, M. (2021). Role of Antioxidants Supplementation in the Treatment of Male Infertility. In Antioxidants - Benefits, Sources, Mechanisms of Action. IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.95891

Aruwa, C. E., Amoo, S. O., Koorbanally, N., & Kudanga, T. (2022). Laccase-mediated modification of isorhamnetin improves antioxidant and antibacterial activities. Process Biochemistry, 112, 53–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procbio.2021.11.019

Baldrian, P. (2002). Copper and cadmium increase laccase activity in Pleurotus ostreatus. FEMS Microbiology Letters, 206(1), 69–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1097(01)00519-5

Campos, P. A., Levin, L. N., & Wirth, S. A. (2016). Heterologous production, characterization and dye decolorization ability of a novel thermostable laccase isoenzyme from Trametes trogii BAFC 463. Process Biochemistry, 51(7), 895–903. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procbio.2016.03.015

CRUK. (2023). cruk.org Together we will beat cancer Cancer in the UK.

Han, M.-J., Choi, H.-T., & Song, H.-G. (2005). Purification and characterization of laccase from the white rot fungus Trametes versicolor. Journal of Microbiology (Seoul, Korea), 43(6), 555–560.

Jomová, K., Hudecova, L., Lauro, P., Simunkova, M., Alwasel, S. H., Alhazza, I. M., & Valko, M. (2019). A Switch between Antioxidant and Prooxidant Properties of the Phenolic Compounds Myricetin, Morin, 3′,4′-Dihydroxyflavone, Taxifolin and 4-Hydroxy-Coumarin in the Presence of Copper(II) Ions: A Spectroscopic, Absorption Titration and DNA Damage Study. Molecules, 24(23), 4335. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules24234335

Khatami, S. H., Vakili, O., Movahedpour, A., Ghesmati, Z., Ghasemi, H., & Taheri‐Anganeh, M. (2022). Laccase: Various types and applications. Biotechnology and Applied Biochemistry, 69(6), 2658–2672. https://doi.org/10.1002/bab.2313

Maddu, N. (2019). Diseases Related to Types of Free Radicals. In Antioxidants. IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.82879

Mandal, S. M., Chakraborty, D., & Dey, S. (2010). Phenolic acids act as signaling molecules in plant-microbe symbioses. Plant Signaling & Behavior, 5(4), 359–368. https://doi.org/10.4161/psb.5.4.10871

Reis Giada, M. de L. (2013). Food Phenolic Compounds: Main Classes, Sources and Their Antioxidant Power. In Oxidative Stress and Chronic Degenerative Diseases - A Role for Antioxidants. InTech. https://doi.org/10.5772/51687

Riva, S. (2006). Laccases: blue enzymes for green chemistry. Trends in Biotechnology, 24(5), 219–226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibtech.2006.03.006

Sakihama, Y. (2002). Plant phenolic antioxidant and prooxidant activities: phenolics-induced oxidative damage mediated by metals in plants. Toxicology, 177(1), 67–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0300-483X(02)00196-8

Zhang, L.-B., Deng, Z.-Q., Qiu, T.-T., Yang, W.-W.-J., Zhu, F., & Ye, X.-Y. (2023). Characterisation of a laccase isolated from Trametes hirsuta and its application in the oligomerisation of phenolic compounds. Fungal Biology, 127(1–2), 872–880. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.funbio.2022.11.005