ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate whether epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)is involved in the anti-invasion and anti-metastasis effects of curcumin on MDA-MB-2 3 1 breast cancer cell line and further analyze the underlying mechanisms.Methods MTT method was used to detect the anti-proliferative effect of curcumin on MDA-MB-2 3 1 cell line induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS).The morphological changes were determined by optical and transmission electron microscopy,respectively.The expressions of Vimentin,E-cadherin,NF-κB and Snail were analyzed using RT-PCR and Western blotting.Results Curcumin could inhibit the occurrence of LPS-induced EMT of MDA-MB-2 3 1 breast cancer cell line, decrease the expression of LPS-induced EMT marker Vimentin and increase the expression of E-cadherin, resulting in the inhibition of in vitro cell motility and invasiveness.These actions were mediated by inactivating NF-κB-Snail signaling pathways.Conclusion Our data provide a new perspective of the anti-invasion mechanism of curcumin,indicating that the effect is in part due to its ability to inhibit the EMT process.