* Bufalin inhibits migration and invasion in human hepatocellular carcinoma SK-Hep1 cells through the inhibitions of NF-kB and matrix metalloproteinase-2/-9-signaling pathways.
- Metastasis plays an important role in mortality of cancer patients. Migration and invasion are the major characteristics of tumor metastasis. The induction of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) such as MMP-2 and -9 are particularly important for the invasiveness of various cancer cells. Bufalin, a class of toxic steroids, was purified from the skin glands of Bufo gargarizans or Bufo melanostictus; it is known to inhibit proliferation of human cancer cells. In this study, we investigated the antiinvasive mechanisms of bufalin in the human hepatocellular cancer cell line SK-Hep1. Bufalin significantly reduced serum-induced cell invasion and migration. Furthermore, bufalin markedly inhibited MMP-2 and -9 activity, mRNA expression and protein levels in SK-Hep1 cells. Bufalin attenuated phosphoinisitide-3-kinase (PI3K) and phosphorylation of AKT which was associated with reduced levels of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB). Bufalin also suppressed protein levels of FAK and Rho A, VEGF, MEKK3, MKK7, and uPA and it diminished NF-κB translocation. Based on these observations, we propose that bufalin is acts as an antiinvasive agent by inhibiting MMP-2 and -9 and involving PI3K/AKT and NF-κB pathways. Bufalin is a potential therapeutic agent that may have efficacy in preventing the invasion and metastasis of malignant liver tumors.
Overview of noun cell
The noun cell has 7 senses (first 3 from tagged texts)
1. (71) cell -- (any small compartment; "the cells of a honeycomb")
2. (44) cell -- ((biology) the basic structural and functional unit of all organisms; they may exist
as independent units of life (as in monads) or may form colonies or tissues as in higher plants and
animals)
3. (1) cell, electric cell -- (a device that delivers an electric current as the result of a
chemical reaction)
4. cell, cadre -- (a small unit serving as part of or as the nucleus of a larger political movement)
5. cellular telephone, cellular phone, cellphone, cell, mobile phone -- (a hand-held mobile
radiotelephone for use in an area divided into small sections, each with its own short-range
transmitter/receiver)
6. cell, cubicle -- (small room in which a monk or nun lives)
7. cell, jail cell, prison cell -- (a room where a prisoner is kept)
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