The effects of Chinese herbs "Songyou Yin" on the invasiveness of human HCC cell line MHCC97H with high mestastatic potential and potential and the immune function of mouse / 肿瘤

ABSTRACT

Objective: To investigate the effects of "Songyou Yin" on the invasiveness of high metastatic human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) line MHCC97H and immune function of mouse and explore its action mechanism. Methods: The MHCC97H cells were treated with "Songyou Yin" at different concentrations (2, 4, and 8 mg/mL) for 48 h. The Boden chamber assay was applied to determine the tumor cell invasive potential and gelatin zymography was performed to detect activity of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2). The nude mouse model hearing HCC xenograft with high metastatic potential was established for the in vivo study. Thirty C57BL/6 mice were randomized into intervention groups of C1, C2 and C3 with stepwise increased dosage of "Songyou Yin", and another two groups were regarded as negative and positive controls with 6 mice in each group. Forty Kunming mice were randomized into C1, C2, C3 and control groups with 10 mice in each group. The mice were administered "Songyou Yin" i. g. once daily for 7 consecutive days. After the mice were sacrificed the activities of natural killer cells were detected and the phagocytic function of abdominal cavity macrophages was observed. Results: The invasiveness of MHCC97 H cells in "Songyou Yin" groups (4 and 8 mg/mL) decreased significantly compared with the control group (P < 0.01), which was in accordance with the decreased MMP-2 activity. Moreover, "Songyou Yin" inhibited the growth of HCC in vivo. Cell-specific inhibitory ratio of NK cells was 24.6%, 27.1%, and 27.7% in C1, C2 and C3 groups; whereas phagocytic percentage of macrophages was significantly different from control group (P < 0.01). Conclusion: Chinese complex herb "Songyou Yin" inhibited the invasiveness of MHCC97H cell by suppressing MMP-2. Intragastric administration of "Songyou Yin" for 7 consecutive days enhanced the immune function of mice.