The present study aimed to investigate the anti-
tumor activity of
Ilexgenin A in B16-F10 murine
melanoma and to evaluate its effect on the production of
tumor-associated inflammatory
cytokines. In vitro, our study showed that
Ilexgenin A inhibited the proliferation of B16-F10 murine
melanoma cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner, and this effect could be ascribed to the arrest of the cell cycle at G0/G1. In vivo, we evaluated the anti-
tumor activity of
Ilexgenin A in a
tumor-bearing mouse model. The results showed that
Ilexgenin A reduced the
tumor weight by 51.13% (p<0.01). The
Ilexgenin A treatment groups showed no apparent side effects during the treatment period. In addition, a histological analysis revealed that
Ilexgenin A changed the cell morphology, and induced large areas of
necrosis that correlated with a reduction in
tumor size. The detection of inflammatory
cytokines indicated that the
IL-6 level decreased (p<0.001) and the TNF-α level increased (p<0.01) in mice treated with
Ilexgenin A.
Ilexgenin A also inhibited the
IL-6 production of macrophages stimulated by
melanoma conditioned medium (MCM) significantly (p<0.001). Importantly,
Ilexgenin A dramatically prolonged survival time (p<0.001). In conclusion,
Ilexgenin A could be regarded as a promising agent for the treatment of
melanoma; it exerts anti-
melanoma activity by arresting the cell cycle at G0/G1 and regulating
IL-6 and TNF-α production.