Affiliations: [a] Department of Thoracic Surgery, the Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan 250014, Shandong, China | [b] Department of Pharmacy, Qilu Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan 250012, Shandong, China | [c] Department of Surgery, Boshan District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zibo 255200, Shandong, China
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Guangfeng Su, Department of Thoracic Surgery, the Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jingshi Road, No. 16369, Jinan 250014, Shandong, China, Tel.: +86 531 68617119; Fax: 86 531 86915058; E-mail: sugiangf1@163.com.
Note: [1] Both authors contributed equally to this work.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Baicalein is an important Chinese herbal medicine and has multiple pharmacological activities. However, the biological mechanisms of the anti-tumor effects of Baicalein on non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) still need to be understood. METHODS: Human NSCLC A549 and H1299 cells were pretreated with Baicalein or DMSO. Cells viability and transwell cell invasion assays were performed to assess cell proliferation and invasion. QRT-PCR assay was used to analyze mRNA expression levels of Twist1, E-cadhertin, Vimentin, Notch1 and hes-1. Western blot analysis was also performed to determine protein expression. RESULTS: In the study, we found that Baicalein had a significantly inhibited effect on proliferation ability of A549 and H1299 cells. Cells treated with Baicalein showed a down-regulated expression of CyclinD1 and CDK1 in A549 and H1299 cells. Furthermore, we found that Baicalein significantly inhibited cell invasion and Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) by up-regulating the mRNA and protein expression of E-cadherin and down-regulated the Twist1 and Vimentin expression, Moreover, Treatment of Baicalein down-regulated Notch1 and hes-1 expression in A549 and H1299 cells, which indicated that Baicalein could suppress the Notch signaling pathway. CONCLUSION: Our studies suggest that Baicalein may be a potential phytochemical flavonoid for therapeutics of NSCLC and serve as a molecular target for NSCLC.
Keywords: Baicalein, non small cell lung cancer, cell proliferation, epithelial-mesenchymal transition
