The in vitro effect of norcantharidin on proliferation and invasion of human gallbladder carcinoma GBC-SD cells and its mechanism / 中华肿瘤杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the effect and mechanism of action of norcantharidin on proliferation and invasion of GBC-SD cells.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>GBC-SD cells of human gallbladder carcinoma were cultured by cell culture technique. The tetrazolium-based colorimetric assay was used to evaluate cell growth. The Matrigel experiment and the crossing-river test were used to examine the invasiveness of GBC-SD cells. Expression of MMP(2), TIMP(2), PCNA and Ki-67 proteins of GBC-SD cells was determined by streptavidin-biotin complex method.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Norcantharidin inhibited the growth and proliferation of GBC-SD cells in a dose and time dependent manner, with an IC(50) value of 56.18 micro g/ml at 48 h. The Matrigel experiment showed that norcantharidin began to inhibit the in vitro invasion of GBC-SD cells at the concentration of 5 micro g/ml. At 40 micro g/ml, the invasive action of GBC-SD cells was inhibited completely and their crossing-river time was prolonged significantly. After treatment with norcantharidin, the expression of PCNA, Ki-67, MMP(2) was significantly decreased. With the increase in TIMP(2) expression, the MMP(2) to TIMP(2) ratio was decreased significantly (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Norcantharidin inhibits the in vitro proliferation and growth of human gallbladder carcinoma cells at relatively low concentrations by inhibiting PCNA and Ki-67 expression. Its anti-invasive activity may be the results of decrease in MMP(2) to TIMP(2) ratio and reduced cell motility.</p>