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Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research
Published in: Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research 1/2018

Open Access 01-12-2018 | Research

The plant alkaloid tetrandrine inhibits metastasis via autophagy-dependent Wnt/β-catenin and metastatic tumor antigen 1 signaling in human liver cancer cells

Authors: Zhenxing Zhang, Ting Liu, Man Yu, Kangdi Li, Wenhua Li

Published in: Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research | Issue 1/2018

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Abstract

Background

Tetrandrine is a bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloid isolated from the Chinese medicinal herb Stephania tetrandra S. Moore. We previously demonstrated that tetrandrine exhibits potent antitumor effects in many types of cancer cells. In this study, we investigated the effects of tetrandrine on human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) metastasis.

Methods

The invasion and migration effects were evaluated via wound healing and transwell assays. Immunofluorescence and western blotting analyses were used to investigate the levels of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related protein. A metastasis model was established to investigate the inhibitory effect of tetrandrine on hepatocellular carcinoma metastasis in vivo.

Results

Tetrandrine inhibits HCC invasion and migration by preventing cell EMT. The underlying mechanism was closely associated with tetrandrine-induced human liver cell autophagy, which inhibits Wnt/β-catenin pathway activity and decreases metastatic tumor antigen 1 (MTA1) expression to modulate cancer cell metastasis.

Conclusion

Our findings demonstrate, for the first time, that tetrandrine plays a significant role in the inhibition of human hepatocellular carcinoma metastasis and provide novel insights into the application of tetrandrine in clinical HCC treatment.
Appendix
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Metadata
Title
The plant alkaloid tetrandrine inhibits metastasis via autophagy-dependent Wnt/β-catenin and metastatic tumor antigen 1 signaling in human liver cancer cells
Authors
Zhenxing Zhang
Ting Liu
Man Yu
Kangdi Li
Wenhua Li
Publication date
01-12-2018
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research / Issue 1/2018
Electronic ISSN: 1756-9966
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13046-018-0678-6

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