Icariin reversed metastatic phenotype of methotrexate-resistant lung cancer A549 cells / 肿瘤

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the effect of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) icariin (ICA) on metastatic phenotype of methotrexate (MTX)-resistant lung cancer A549 cells and elucidate the action mechanism and therapeutic value of ICA. Methods:The half inhibition concentration(IC_(50))value of ICA in inhibiting the growth of A549/MTX cells was measured by MTT assay. The colony formation rates and the morphology of cell cluster of A549/MTX and ICA-treated A549/MTX cells were determined by double-layer soft agar colony formation assay. The migration abilities of A549/MTX and ICA-treated A549/MTX cells were evaluated by cell scratch assay. The invasion ability of cells was tested by using Transwell chamber assay. Results:MTT assay showed that the IC_(50) value of non-toxic ICA plus MTX was reduced compared with that induced by equal dose of MTX (35.50±1.85 μmol/L vs 52.17±2.25 μmol/L). The colony formation rate of ICA-treated A549/MTX cells was 0.94±0.09, less than that of A549/MTX cells (1.56±1.07, P<0.05). Cell scratching assay demonstrated that the migration capability of A549/MTX cells was stronger than that of ICA-treated A549/MTX cells at 72 h (P<0.05). Transwell experiment revealed that more A549/MTX cells passed through artificial basement membrane than ICA-treated A549/MTX cells (P<0.05), indicating that the invasion capability of ICA-treated A549/MTX cells was weaker than that of A549/MTX cells.Conclusion:TCM ICA can reverse the metastatic phenotype of MTX-resistant A549 cells.