Abstract

Methanol extract prepared from the fruitbody of Phellinus linteus (EPL) showed anti-tumor and immuno-stimulating activities. The invasion activity of B16-F10 melanoma cells through a reconstituted basement membrane to the collagen-coated lower surface of the filters was inhibited about 67% by EPL (100 ug/ml). Also, EPL inhibited the expression of the mRNA for MMP-2 and MMP-9. In vivo treatment of C57BL/6 mice (150 mg/kg) with EPL for 14 days, the pulmonary colonization was found to be inhibited about 75%. Using reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis, we found that cytokine IL-12 and INF-[gamma] genes were induced by EPL. Furthermore, EPL stimulated the proliferation of CD4^+ (33.5%) and CD8^+ (17.7%) in mouse splenocytes.

• Keywords: cytokines; metastasis; Phellinus linteus; T-lymphocytes