Research Article Cordyceps sinensis Increases Hypoxia Tolerance by Inducing Heme Oxygenase-1 and Metallothionein via Nrf2 Activation in

Copyright © 2013 Mrinalini Singh et al.This is an open access article distributed under the Creative CommonsAttribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Cordyceps sinensis, an edible mushroom growing in Himalayan regions, is widely recognized in traditional system of medicine. In the present study, we report the efficacy of Cordyceps sinensis in facilitating tolerance to hypoxia using A549 cell line as a model system. Treatment with aqueous extract of Cordyceps sinensis appreciably attenuated hypoxia induced ROS generation, oxidation of lipids and proteins andmaintained antioxidant status similar to that of controls via induction of antioxidant gene HO1 (heme oxygenase-1), MT (metallothionein) and Nrf2 (nuclear factor erythroid-derived 2-like 2). In contrast, lower level of N