The Effects of β elemene on the Adhesion and Motility and the Gap junctinal Intercellular Communication of Mice Melanoma B₁₆ Cells in Vitro

The influences of β elemene on the abilities of adhesion and motility and on the gap junctional intercellular communication(GJIC) of mice melanoma B₁₆ cells were studied in vitro.It was found that β elemene in 20～40 μg/ml inhibited significantly the adhesion of B ₁₆ cells to fibronectin and lamin,and that the drug in 10～40 μg/ml suppressed the movement of B₁₆ cells in vitro and delayed healing of cell monolayer damage.No obvious effect of β elemene in above concentration on gap junction structure and GJIC of B₁₆ cell was observed.It is suggested that the suppression of β elemene on the adhesion and motility of B₁₆ cells may be an important mechanism of the drug inhibiting tumor metastasis.