Tumor cell invasion and
metastasis are important processes in
colorectal cancer that exert negative effects on patient outcomes; consequently, a prominent topic in the field of
colorectal cancer study is the identification of safe and affordable anticancer drugs against cell invasion and
metastasis, with limited side effects.
Ginkgolic acid is a
phenolic acid extracted from ginkgo fruit, ginkgo exotesta and ginkgo leaves. Previous studies have indicated that
ginkgolic acid inhibits
tumor growth and invasion in a number of types of
cancer; however, limited studies have considered the effects of
ginkgolic acid on
colon cancer. In the present study, SW480
colon cancer cells were treated with a range of concentrations of
ginkgolic acid; tetrazolium
dye-based MTT,
wound-scratch and transwell migration assays were performed to investigate the effects on the proliferation, migration and invasion of
colon cancer cells, and potential mechanisms for the effects were explored. The results indicated that
ginkgolic acid reduced the proliferation and significantly inhibited the migration and invasion of SW480 cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Additional experiments indicated that
ginkgolic acid significantly decreased the expression of invasion-associated
proteins, including
matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, MMP-9, urinary-type
plasminogen activator and
C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4, and activated
adenosine monophosphate activated
protein kinase (AMPK) in SW480 cells.
Small interfering RNA silencing of AMPK expression reversed the effect of
ginkgolic acid on the expression of invasion-associated
proteins. This result suggested that
ginkgolic acid inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion of SW480
colon cancer cells by inducing AMPK activation and inhibiting the expression of invasion-associated
proteins.