Can Ganoderma Triterpenoids Exert Immunogenic Cell Death in Human Cancer Cells? A Systematic Review and Protein Network Analysis
- Author: mycolabadmin
- 10/30/2025
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Summary
This review examines whether compounds from medicinal mushrooms called Ganoderma can help the body’s immune system fight cancer more effectively. Researchers analyzed 69 scientific studies and found that Ganoderma compounds cause cancer cells to die and trigger immune-activating signals. While these results are promising, more experiments are needed to prove whether these mushroom compounds actually activate the specific immune pathways required for long-term cancer control.
Background
Cancer requires complete immunological response with memory generation against malignant cells. Immunogenic cell death (ICD) couples cell death with damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) emission. Ganoderma species produce anticancer triterpenoids, but their mechanisms remain unclear.
Objective
This systematic review aims to consolidate evidence of Ganoderma triterpenoids against human cancer cells and assess their hypothetical connection to immunogenic cell death through protein interaction network analysis.
Results
Conclusion
Ganoderma triterpenoids exhibit polypharmacological anticancer effects including stress response, cell death regulation, and PD-L1/PD-1 checkpoint inhibition. They upregulate ICD-adjacent machinery and key DAMPs like HSP70, but further studies are needed to confirm causal links between triterpenoid treatment and DAMP emission.
- Published in:Pharmaceuticals (Basel),
- Study Type:Systematic Review,
- Source: PMID: 41304887