Effects of tangeretin on growth and invasion of human non-small-cell lung cancer cells / 中国病理生理杂志

ABSTRACT

[ ABSTRACT] AIM: To study the influences of tangeretin ( TGN) on the growth and invasion of non-small-cell lung cancer ( NSCLC) cells, and to explore the molecular mechanisms.METHODS: The A549 cells were treated with different concentrations of TGN in vitro.The relative cell activity was determined by MTT assay.The apoptotic rate was an-alyzed by flow cytometry with Annexin V-FITC/PI staining.The number of the invasive cells was measured by Transwell as-say.The mRNA expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 was detected by RT-PCR, and the protein levels of Ki67, Cyt C, caspase-3, cleaved caspase-3, MMP-2, MMP-9, Akt, p-Akt and p-PI3K were determined by Western blotting analysis. RESULTS:TGN inhibited the proliferation of A549 cells in a dose-dependent manner ( P<0.05) along with the low ex-pression level of proliferation biomarker Ki67.TGN up-regulated the protein levels of Cyt C, caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-3 (P<0.01) and promoted the apoptosis of A549 cells in a dose-dependent manner.Moreover, TGN down-regu-lated the invasion-related molecules MMP-2 and MMP-9 at the mRNA and protein levels, and the number of invasive cells reduced with the increase in the concentration of TGN.The protein levels of p-Akt and p-PI3K in the A549 cells was re-duced (P<0.05), and no difference of the cell viability in the cells treated with different concentrations of TGN was ob-served after blocking PI3K/Akt signaling pathway using LY294002.CONCLUSION: TGN inhibits the growth and inva-sion of A549 cells and promotes the cell apoptosis by potentially inhibiting PI3K/Akt signaling pathway activation.There-fore, this study will provide a new target for the prevention and control of NSCLC.