ABSTRACT
[Objective]This study was aimed to research the synergistic antitumor proliferation effects and their best proportion of ursolic acid(UA) and tetrandrine(Tet), a pair of compounds isolated from Chinese herbs which showed complement inhibition on the multiple signal pathways. [Methods] The reporter assays on tumor-related signal pathways for MAPK/ERK, MAPK/JNK, NF-κB, Wnt, Notch, Cell Cycle, Myc/Max and Hypoxia were used to study the effect of five different Chinese herbal compounds on tumor proliferation,it was concluded cepharanthine(Cep), Tet, 18α-glycyrrhetinic acid(18α-Gly), UA and luteolin(Lut). MTT assay and crystal violet staining were used to study the antiproliferative effect of 15 different compounds for the tumor cells of MDA-MB-231,SW480,MG63,PC3,DU145,HCT116,143B and MDA-MB-468, which is consisted with Cep, Tet, 18α-Gly, UA and Lut for the 15 different compounds. Coefficient of drug interaction(CDI) method was used to detect the synergistic effect of the two compounds. Combination of index(CI) and isobologram method was used to screen the best ratio of compounds in their antiproliferative effects. [Results] The signal pathway reporter assay showed that UA and Tet could complementarily inhibit tumor-related signaling pathways. And the results also showed that UA and Tet could induce synergetic anti-tumor cell proliferation in vitro. Furthermore, the optimal ratio of UA and Tet was 9:1 by using isobologram and CI method. [Conclusion] UA and Tet can be inhibited and complemented by 8 tumor-related signaling pathways, and we used MTT assay and crystal violet staining or other methods to confirm the synergistic antitumor proliferation effects, furthermore, the optimal proportion for UA and Tet were screened, and it provided a new insight to develop new anticancer formula in research.