Title:Celastrus orbiculatus Extract Inhibits the Invasion and Migration of Human Gastric
Cancer Cells in the Hypoxia Microenvironment
Volume: 22
Issue: 18
Author(s): Guangqing Feng, Zewen Chu, Haibo Wang, Yanqing Liu*Fangshi Zhu*
Affiliation:
- The Key
Laboratory of Syndrome Differentiation and Treatment of Gastric Cancer of the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine,
Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225001, China
- The Third Clinical Medicine College, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210029, Jiangsu Province, China
Keywords:
Celastrus orbiculatus, HIF-1α, hypoxia, EMT, MMP, matrix metalloproteinase.
Abstract:
Background: Gastric cancer is a common global disease. So far, the best choice for diagnosis and treatment
of gastric cancer includes surgical resection, chemotherapy, and other targeted drug therapies; however, the overall
survival rate of patients with gastric cancer is still very low. The hypoxic microenvironment facilitates tumor cells to
develop tolerance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy and promotes the early invasion and metastasis of various tumors.
Celastrus Orbiculatus extract (COE) has shown inhibitory activities against a variety of tumor cells. In this study, we
found that COE could inhibit the invasion and migration of gastric cancer cells by inhibiting epithelial-mesenchymal
transformation (EMT) in the hypoxia microenvironment.
Methods: CoCl2 was first diluted to various concentrations and then used to treat MKN28 and AGS cells. The MTT
(thiazolyl blue) assay was used to evaluate cell proliferation. The transwell assay was used to measure the invasion and
migration abilities of the cells. Wound healing assays were used to detect the healing ability of the cells. Western blotting
was used to assess the effects of COE on the expression of EMT and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) signaling
pathway-related proteins.
Results: We found that gastric cancer cells showed stronger proliferation, invasion, and metastasis in the hypoxia
microenvironment. COE inhibited the migration and invasion of AGS and MKN28 cells in both hypoxic and normoxic
environments. Additionally, COE decreased the expression of EMT and MMP signaling pathway-related proteins in
gastric cancer cells.
Conclusion: Therefore, it can be concluded that COE suppresses the migration and invasion of gastric cancer cells by
inhibiting EMT and MMP in the hypoxia microenvironment.