Baicalein Inhibits the Invasion and Metastatic Capabilities of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells via Down-Regulation of the ERK Pathway.docVIP

Baicalein Inhibits the Invasion and Metastatic Capabilities of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells via Down-Regulation of the ERK Pathway , Jun Li , Peng An , Hongtao Ren , Rongrui Liang , Jun Kunlun Chen1,2?, Shu Zhang1,2?, Yuanyuan Ji2 2 2 2 2,3¤ Yang , Zongfang Li 2* 1,2,3* 1 General Surgeon Department of Cadre’s Ward, the Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, P. R. China, 2 National- Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Biodiagnostics Biotherapy, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, P. R. China, 3 Key Laboratory of Environment and Genes Related to Diseases of the Education Ministry, School of Medicine, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, P. R. China Abstract Baicalein, a widely used Chinese herbal medicine, has historically been used in anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer therapies. However, the anti-metastatic effect and molecular mechanism(s) of baicalein on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain poorly understood. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the anti-metastatic effects of baicalein and related mechanism(s) on HCC. Based on assays utilized in both HCC cell lines and in an animal model, we found that baicalein inhibited tumor cell metastasis in vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, after treatment with baicalein for 24 hours, there was a decrease in the levels of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), MMP-9 and urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) expression as well as proteinase activity in hepatocellular carcinoma MHCC97H cells. Meanwhile, the expression of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) and TIMP-2 were increased in a dose-dependent fashion. Moreover, baicalein treatment dramatically decreased the levels of the phosphorylated forms