ABSTRACT
Aim To study the effect of Radix Tetrastig-ma Hemsleyani Flavone ( RTHF ) on the proliferation and invasion in lung carcinoma A549 cells as well as the possible mechanisms underlying these processes. Methods A549 cells were treated with different con-centrations of RTHF for different time. MTT assay and colone formation assay were used to detect the ability of cell proliferation. Wound healing methods and tran-swell chamber assay were adopted to determine cell mi-gration and invasion. Western blotting assay was used to detect the expression of metastasis-related proteins MMP-2 , MMP-9 , and TIMP-2 . Results RTHF obvi-ously suppressed the proliferation of A549 cells in a dose-and time-dependent manner. Microscope found an apparent decrease of cells in the denude zone of cell migration and transwell testing results show that the treatment of invasion was significantly lower than the proportion in the control group ( P <0. 01 ) . The pro-tein expressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9 were down-reg-ulated and that of TIMP-2 was up-regulated in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion RTHF inhibits the growth and invasion of lung carcinoma A549 cells, which might be achieved by down-regulating the ex-pressions of MMP-2 and MMP-9 protein.