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A Systematic Review of the Biological Effects of Cordycepin

Radhi, Masar; Ashraf, Sadaf; Lawrence, Steven; Tranholm, Asta Arendt; Wellham, Peter Arthur David; Hafeez, Abdul; Khamis, Ammar Sabah; Thomas, Robert; McWilliams, Daniel; De Moor, Cornelia Huiberdina

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Authors

Sadaf Ashraf

Steven Lawrence

Asta Arendt Tranholm

Peter Arthur David Wellham

Abdul Hafeez

Ammar Sabah Khamis

Robert Thomas



Abstract

We conducted a systematic review of the literature on the effects of cordycepin on cell survival and proliferation, inflammation, signal transduction and animal models. A total of 1204 publications on cordycepin were found by the cut-off date of 1 February 2021. After application of the exclusion criteria, 791 papers remained. These were read and data on the chosen subjects were extracted. We found 192 papers on the effects of cordycepin on cell survival and proliferation and calculated a median inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 135 µM. Cordycepin consistently repressed cell migration (26 papers) and cellular inflammation (53 papers). Evaluation of 76 papers on signal transduction indicated consistently reduced PI3K/mTOR/AKT and ERK signalling and activation of AMPK. In contrast, the effects of cordycepin on the p38 and Jun kinases were variable, as were the effects on cell cycle arrest (53 papers), suggesting these are cell-specific responses. The examination of 150 animal studies indicated that purified cordycepin has many potential therapeutic effects, including the reduction of tumour growth (37 papers), repression of pain and inflammation (9 papers), protecting brain function (11 papers), improvement of respiratory and cardiac conditions (8 and 19 papers) and amelioration of metabolic disorders (8 papers). Nearly all these data are consistent with cordycepin mediating its therapeutic effects through activating AMPK, inhibiting PI3K/mTOR/AKT and repressing the inflammatory response. We conclude that cordycepin has excellent potential as a lead for drug development, especially for age-related diseases. In addition, we discuss the remaining issues around the mechanism of action, toxicity and biodistribution of cordycepin.

Citation

Radhi, M., Ashraf, S., Lawrence, S., Tranholm, A. A., Wellham, P. A. D., Hafeez, A., …De Moor, C. H. (2021). A Systematic Review of the Biological Effects of Cordycepin. Molecules, 26(19), Article 5886. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26195886

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Sep 13, 2021
Online Publication Date Sep 28, 2021
Publication Date Oct 1, 2021
Deposit Date Nov 9, 2021
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Molecules
Electronic ISSN 1420-3049
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 26
Issue 19
Article Number 5886
DOI https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26195886
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/6511916
Publisher URL https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/19/5886

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