Table 1.
Current evidence for the effects of cordycepin on various tumor types and possible mechanisms.
| Tumor Type | Effects | Major Mediating Signaling Pathways | Results | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liver cancer | Apoptosis induction | Cysteine-aspartic proteases (caspase) | - Increased caspase-3, caspase-8, caspase-9, FADD, and Bid - Decreased Bcl-2 |
[34] |
| Apoptosis induction, Anti-proliferation |
Phospholipase C (PLC) | - Increased PARP cleavage | [35,36] | |
| Colon cancer | Cell cycle arrest | c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK) | - G2/M-phase cell-cycle arrest - Increased JNK and p21WAF-1 expression |
[37] |
| Bladder cancer | Cell cycle arrest | c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK) | - G2/M cell-cycle arrest - Increased cJNK |
[38] |
| Renal cancer | Apoptosis induction | ERK/JNK | - Increased JNK and caspase-3 - Decreased ERK |
[39,40] |
| Lung cancer | Apoptosis induction | ERK/JNK | - Increased CAV1, JNK/Foxo3a, BAX, caspase-3 cleavage, and GSK-3β - Decreased ERK |
[41,42] |
| Apoptosis induction, Anti-proliferation, Anti-metastasis |
Caspase | - Increased MMP-9 and caspase-3 - Decreased Bcl-2 |
[43] | |
| Apoptosis induction, Anti-proliferation |
NF-kB | - Increased BAX, caspase-3 cleavage - Decreased NF-kB, Bcl-2, and p65 nuclear translocation |
[44] | |
| Breast cancer | Apoptosis induction | Caspase | - Increased caspase-3, caspase-9, mitochondrial translocation of BAX, and cytochrome c | [45,46,47] |
| Anti-metastasis | MAPK | - Decreased Bcl-2 | [48] | |
| Prostate cancer | Apoptosis induction | Caspase | - Increased JNK and caspase-3 - Decreased ERK |
[39,40] |
| Leukemia | Apoptosis induction | Caspase | - Increased caspase-3, caspase-8, and PARP cleavage - Decreased Bcl-2 |
[3,49] |
| Anti-proliferation | GSK-3𝛽 | - Decreased Akt, and β-catenine | [50] | |
| Apoptosis induction, Cell cycle arrest |
MAPK | - S-phase cell-cycle arrest - Increased cytochrome c released, and caspase-9 - Decreased MAPK, p-ERK1/2, and CDK2 expression |
[51] | |
| Glioblastoma | Apoptosis induction Anti-proliferation |
MAPK | - Increased p38 MAPK, caspase-3,8, PARP cleavage - Decreased Akt and Bcl-2 |
[52] |
| Neuroblastoma | Apoptosis induction Cell cycle arrest |
Caspase | - sub-G1 phase cell-cycle arrest - Increased caspase-3 and PARP cleavage |
[53,54] |