Yanhusuo extract inhibits metastasis of breast cancer cells

[Rich66]

Oncol Rep. 2008 Oct;20(4):819-24.

Yanhusuo extract inhibits metastasis of breast cancer cells by modulating mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways.

Gao JL, Shi JM, He K, Zhang QW, Li SP, Lee SM, Wang YT.

Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Macau 999078, P.R. China.

Yanhusuo (Corydalis yanhusuo W.T. Wang) is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In this study, we attempted to characterize in detail the signaling cascades that produce its anti-metastatic effect on the human breast cancer cell line, MDA-MB-231. We found that the yanhusuo extract inhibited the migration and invasion of MDA-MB-231 cells in vitro. In addition, the yanhusuo extract inhibited the mRNA expression and activity of metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9). The anti-cancer metastasis effect of yanhusuo involved the activation of p38 and inhibition of ERK1/2 and SAPK/JNK mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling. Our experiments identified the biological activity of yanhusuo against cancer metastasis in vitro and provide a rationale for its further investigation.

PMID: 18813823 [PubMed - in process]