L-
securinine is a
natural product extracted and isolated from the leaf of dried Securinega suffruticosa. The aim of the present study was to explore the effects of L-
securinine on proliferation, and the methylation profile of the dickkopf-related
protein 1 (DKK1) gene in human
lung cancer cells and fibroblasts. L-
securinine was extracted, isolated and the structure was identified. The cytotoxicity of L-
securinine in A549 cells was evaluated by Cell Counting Kit-8 assays. The expression and DNA methylation profile of DKK genes was analyzed by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and
bisulfite sequencing polymerase chain reaction, respectively. L-
securinine inhibited the proliferation of
lung cancer cells; the half-maximal inhibitory concentration values were 8.92, 4.73 and 3.81 µg/ml, at 24, 36 and 48 h post-treatment, respectively. DKK1, 2 and 3 expression was significantly increased in A549 cells compared with HLF-a cells. L-
securinine induced the downregulation of DKK1 in A549 cells in a dose-dependent manner and induced methylation changes at CpG sites in the DKK1 promoter region. L-
securinine may be a potential anticancer
drug that mediates its effects by altering DKK1 gene methylation.