Polyphenol Oxidase as a Promising Alternative Therapeutic Agent for Cancer Therapy

Cancers have always been the most difficult to fight, the treatment of cancer is still not considered. Thus, exploring new anticancer drugs is still imminent. Traditional Chinese medicine has played an important role in the treatment of cancer. Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) extracted from Edible mushroom has many related reports on its characteristics, but its role in cancer treatment is still unclear. This study aims to investigate the effects of PPO extracted from Edible mushroom on the proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis of cancer cells in vitro and explore the therapeutic effects of PPO on tumors in vivo. A cell counting kit-8 (CCK8) assay was used to detect the effect of PPO on the proliferation of cancer cells. The effect of PPO on cancer cell migration ability was detected by scratch test. The effect of PPO on the invasion ability of cancer cells was detected by a transwell assay. The effect of PPO on the apoptosis of cancer cells was detected by flow cytometry. Female BALB/c mice (18–25 g, 6–8 weeks) were used for in vivo experiments. The experiments were divided into control group, model group, low-dose group (25 mg/kg), and high-dose group (50 mg/kg). In vitro, PPO extracted from Edible mushroom significantly inhibited the proliferation, migration, and invasion capability of breast cancer cell 4T1, lung cancer cell A549, and prostate cancer cell C4-2, and significantly promoted the apoptosis of 4T1, A549, and C4-2. In vivo experiments showed PPO inhibitory effect on tumor growth. Collectively, the edible fungus extract PPO could play an effective role in treating various cancers, and it may potentially be a promising agent for treating cancers.