Ligustilide inhibits the activation of cancer-associated fibroblasts.

The purpose of this work was to study the effects and underlying molecular mechanisms of ligustilide on cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). The effects of ligustilide on the growth of CAFs and splenocytes were detected by MTT assay, and flow cytometry was used to detect effects on T-cell proliferation. Western blotting was used to detect the expression levels of CAF-related proteins after ligustilide treatment. This study found that ligustilide had no effect on the growth of splenocytes but that it could change the immunosuppressive function of CAFs through the TLR4-NF-κB pathway and restore T-cell proliferation previously inhibited by the CAF supernatant. Thus, ligustilide is expected to be a candidate for new antitumor drugs.