Department of Biological Science and Technology, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
J Agric Food Chem. 2012 Sep 26;60(38):9649-58. doi: 10.1021/jf302832n. Epub 2012 Sep 14.
Berberine (BBR) is a natural alkaloid with significant antitumor activities against many types of cancer cells. In this study, we investigated the molecular mechanisms by which BBR repressed the metastatic potential of breast cancer cells. BBR was found to downregulate the enzymatic activities and expression levels of matrix metalloproteinases 2 and 9 (MMP2 and MMP9, respectively). The BBR-mediated suppression of MMP2 and MMP9 involved the inhibition of the Akt/nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and activator protein-1 (AP-1) signaling pathways. Furthermore, BBR repressed the expression of the Akt protein by modulating the mRNA expression level and protein degradation of Akt. In conclusion, this study suggests that BBR can reduce the metastatic potential of highly metastatic breast cancer cells and may be a useful adjuvant therapeutic agent in the treatment of breast cancer by targeting the Akt pathway.
小檗碱（BBR）是一种具有显著抗肿瘤活性的天然生物碱，能抑制多种类型的癌细胞。在本研究中，我们研究了 BBR 抑制乳腺癌细胞转移潜能的分子机制。研究发现，BBR 下调了基质金属蛋白酶 2 和 9（MMP2 和 MMP9）的酶活性和表达水平。BBR 介导的 MMP2 和 MMP9 抑制作用涉及 Akt/核因子 kappa B（NF-κB）和激活蛋白-1（AP-1）信号通路的抑制。此外，BBR 通过调节 Akt 的 mRNA 表达水平和蛋白降解来抑制 Akt 蛋白的表达。总之，本研究表明，BBR 可以降低高转移性乳腺癌细胞的转移潜能，通过靶向 Akt 通路，可能成为治疗乳腺癌的有用辅助治疗药物。
