Sun Bin, Xu Min
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Second Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, P.R. China.
Mol Med Rep. 2015 Jun;11(6):4158-64. doi: 10.3892/mmr.2015.3276. Epub 2015 Jan 29.
Matrine is a widely used Chinese herbal medicine that has historically been used in the treatment of inflammation and cancer. However, the antimetastatic effects and associated molecular mechanisms of matrine on nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) remain to be elucidated. Therefore, the aims of the present study were to assess the antimetastatic effects of matrine on NPC, and identify the underlying mechanisms. Matrine inhibited the proliferation of NPC cells in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, matrine inhibited the migration and invasion of NPC tumor cells at doses below the toxic range. Following treatment with matrine for 24 h, there was a decrease in the protein expression levels and activities of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)‑2 and MMP‑9 in NPC‑039 cells. In addition, matrine markedly reduced the expression levels of p65 and p50 in the nuclei. Combined treatment of matrine with helenalin, a nuclear factor‑κB (NF‑κB) inhibitor resulted in a synergistic reduction in MMP‑2 and MMP‑9 expression levels, and the invasive capabilities of the NPC‑039 cells were also reduced. In conclusion, matrine inhibits NPC cell migration and invasion by suppressing the NF‑κB pathway. These results suggest that matrine may be a potential therapeutic agent for NPC.
苦参碱是一种广泛应用的中草药，历史上一直用于治疗炎症和癌症。然而，苦参碱对鼻咽癌（NPC）的抗转移作用及其相关分子机制仍有待阐明。因此，本研究的目的是评估苦参碱对NPC的抗转移作用，并确定其潜在机制。苦参碱在体外和体内均抑制NPC细胞的增殖。此外，苦参碱在低于毒性范围的剂量下抑制NPC肿瘤细胞的迁移和侵袭。用苦参碱处理24小时后，NPC-039细胞中基质金属蛋白酶（MMP）-2和MMP-9的蛋白表达水平及活性降低。此外，苦参碱显著降低细胞核中p65和p50的表达水平。苦参碱与核因子-κB（NF-κB）抑制剂海伦内酯联合处理导致MMP-2和MMP-9表达水平协同降低，NPC-039细胞的侵袭能力也降低。总之，苦参碱通过抑制NF-κB途径抑制NPC细胞的迁移和侵袭。这些结果表明苦参碱可能是NPC的一种潜在治疗药物。
