ABSTRACT
Aim To explore the effects of parthenolide (PTL) on apoptosis, invasion and migration of NSCLC cell line H1975 as well as the possible mechanism. Methods MTT assay and colony formation assay were used to measure cell proliferation. Flow cytometry with Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining were employed to measure cell apoptosis. Transwell assay was applied to measure cell invasion and migration. The expression of apoptosis-related proteins, invasion and migration-associated proteins and PBK/Akt signaling pathway-related proteins were detected using Western blot. Results MTT assay and colony formation assay results showed that the proliferation of HI975 cells was significantly inhibited with the increase of PTL concentration, and compared with control group, the differences were statistically significant (P < 0. 05). Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining result indicated that PTL induced apoptosis in HI975 cells (P <0. 01). The results of transwell assay demonstrated that PTL significantly inhibited the invasion and migration of HI975 cells (P <0. 01). Western blot analysis revealed that PTL increased the expression of Bax and reduced the expression of Bcl-2, HIF-1 a, MMP-9, Akt and p-Akt (Ser473) in HI975 cells ( P < 0. 05 ), meanwhile, the cleavage of caspase-3 was detected. Conclusions PTL can significantly induce apoptosis and inhibit the invasion and migration of HI975 cells, and the mechanism may be related to the inhibition of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.