Gliotoxin isolated from soil fungus Aspergillus fumigatus induces apoptosis of human NSCLC and breast cancer

Lung cancer and breast cancer are among the most common malignant tumours worldwide. Gliotoxin (GTX) is an epipolythiodioxopiperazine (ETP)-class fungal toxin with broad biological activities; however, its low yield and the difficulty to synthesise have limited its application. To thoroughly explore the anticancer potential of GTX, this study systematically evaluated its inhibitory effects on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) H1975 cells and breast cancer MCF-7 cells. For this purpose, we isolated and identified a high-yielding GTX-producing strain of Aspergillus fumigatus ZSS02 from local soil. In vitro experiments demonstrated that GTX exhibited significant cytotoxicity against the two cell lines, induced their apoptosis in a caspase-dependent manner, and arrested the cell cycle at G0/G1 phase. Furthermore, GTX could inhibit their migration in a concentration-dependent fashion. The results indicated that GTX holds the potential to be a lead compound for combating lung cancer and breast cancer.