Effects of Sanguinarine on Invasion, Migration and Wnt/β-catenin Signaling Pathway of Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells

Objective To investigate the effect of sanguinarine on the invasion and migration of lung adenocarcinoma cells and its preliminary molecular mechanism.

Methods MTT assay was used to observe the proliferative capacity of A549 and H1975 cells. Wound healing and Transwell assays were performed to determine the invasion and migration abilities of A549 and H1975 cells, respectively. RT-qPCR and Western blot were used to detect the mRNA and protein expression of core genes in Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.

Results Compared with the control group, sanguinarine(1-10μmol/L) could inhibit the activity of human lung adenocarcinoma cells in a concentration- and time- dependent manner (P < 0.05); the migration and invasion abilities of A549 and H1975 cells were significantly weakened by 1μmol/L sanguinarine after 48 h (P < 0.01); sanguinarine (1, 2.5, 5μmol/L) could significantly down-regulate the protein expression of β-catenin, phosphorylated GSK3β and DVL2 in Wnt/β-catenin pathway, thereby inhibiting the mRNA levels of TCF/LEF and CyclinD1, in a concentration-dependent manner (P < 0.05).

Conclusion Sanguinarine may inhibit the migration and invasion of human lung adenocarcinoma cells by down-regulating the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway.