Anti-Tumor Effects of Paeoniflorin on Epithelial-To-Mesenchymal Transition in Human Colorectal Cancer Cells.

BACKGROUND Colorectal cancer is one of the leading causes of death in China, and the development of effective drugs is urgently needed. Here, we report on Paeoniflorin (PF), a product isolated from the roots of the peony plant, as a possible candidate because of its anti-tumor effects on epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of PF in human colorectal cancer (CRC). MATERIAL AND METHODS Cell proliferation, wound healing, and Transwell assays were used to analyze the effects of PF on in vitro cell migration and invasion of HCT116 and SW480, 2 colorectal cancer cell lines. The tumor xenograft model was used to verify the anti-metastasis effects of PF in vivo. The RNA and protein levels of epithelia-cadherin (E-cadherin), Vimentin, and histone deacetylase2 (HDAC2) were measured by qPCR and Western blot analysis to explore the mechanism involved. RESULTS Our results showed that PF inhibited colorectal cancer cell migration and invasion and suppressed the metastatic potential of the cancer cells in vivo. Moreover, PF significantly decreased the expression of HDAC2 and Vimentin, while increasing the expression of E-cadherin. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that PF inhibits colorectal cancer cell migration and invasion ability and reverses the EMT process, through inhibiting the expression of HDAC2, and then affects the expression level of E-cadherin and Vimentin at the cell level. Our results were also verified in the tumor xenograft model. This indicates that PF may be a candidate for colorectal cancer treatment.

Antimetastatic Effect of Fucoidan-Sargassum against Liver Cancer Cell Invadopodia Formation via Targeting Integrin αVß3 and Mediating αVß3/Src/E2F1 Signaling.

Background: Fucoidan is a fucose-enriched, sulfated polysaccharide found in brown algae; in recent years, this polysaccharide has been found to exert several biological effects, including antitumor effects, such as antiproliferation, activating apoptosis, and anti-angiogenesis of cancer cells. However, the antimetastatic effect of fucoidan and the related targeting receptors remain unknown. In the present study, we examined the inhibition of invadopodia formation and underlying mechanism of fucoidan on human liver cancer cells. Methods: We used 98% purified fucoidan from Sargassum species to treat the hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells SMMC-7721, Huh7 and HCCLM3 in vitro and the HCCLM3 cell line in vivo. The HCC cells were cultured with various concentrations of Fucoidan-Sargassum (0-30 mg/mL). Migration, invasion and wound healing assays were performed to determine the antimetastatic effect of fucoidan on the HCC cells. Western blot analysis and immunofluorescence staining were conducted to determine the expression levels of invadopodia formation-regulating proteins and the targeting membrane receptor proteins. Results: Fucoidan-Sargassum inhibited the migration and invasion of HCC SMMC-7721, Huh7 and HCCLM3 cells in a dose-dependent manner. In the HCCLM3 cells, Fucoidan-Sargassum also decreased the expression levels of invadopodia-related proteins including Src, Cortactin, N-WASP, ARP3, CDC42, MMP2, MT1-MMP, and the targeting receptors integrin αV and ß3 in a dose-dependent manner. Fucoidan-Sargassum also increased the levels of endoplasmic reticulum-related proteins, including GRP78, IRE1, SPARC, and the type IV collagen receptor proteins integrin α1 and ß1. In vivo, Fucoidan-Sargassum reduced the size of liver tumors and decreased the number of lung metastatic foci in nude mice with hepatocellular carcinoma xenografts. Conclusion: These findings indicate that Fucoidan-Sargassum has an antimetastatic effect on SMMC-7721, Huh7 and HCCLM3 liver cancer cells, and the underlying mechanism involves targeting ITGαVß3 and mediating the ITGαVß3/SRC/E2F1 signaling pathway. These results suggest that Fucoidan-Sargassum may be a promising therapeutic antimetastatic compound in the development of a metastasis-preventive drug for treating liver cancer.