Impact of Agaricus blazei Murill Extract Combined With Imatinib Treatment on the Proliferation and Apoptosis of Multidrug-Resistant Leukemia Cells

Multidrug resistance (MDR) is a major cause of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) relapse, therapeutic failure, and a poor prognosis. However, Agaricus blazei Murill (AbM) is a mushroom that might have anticancer and other medicinal properties. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effects of combining the acidic RNA protein complex FA-2-b-β extracted from AbM with imatinib (IM) on MDR in the K562/ADR leukemia cell line in vitro and in xenograft mouse models. The combination of FA-2-b-β and IM significantly inhibited cell proliferation and promoted apoptosis in K562/ADR cells compared with either alone. Western blotting (WB) revealed that the combination significantly reduced p-PI3K, p-AKT, and p-mTOR protein expression. The combination also inhibited tumor growth in mice with K562/ADR xenografts. These findings suggested that FA-2-b-β enhances the effects of IM on K562/ADR cell proliferation and apoptosis, potentially by inhibiting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway and downregulating P-glycoprotein (P-gp) expression.