Epiberberine suppresses the metastasis of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells by regulating the MMP-13 and JNK pathway.

Abstract

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is one of the most common histological types of head and neck cancer. Epiberberine is a potent antitumour agent for several types of cancer. This study is aimed at investigating the regulatory and molecular mechanism of epiberberine on HNSSC cell metastasis. The results showed that epiberberine inhibited the motility of Ca9-22 and FaDu cell lines at nontoxicity doses. Moreover, the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related proteins, vimentin, snail and slug, were found suppressing after epiberberine treatments. In addition, the JNK signalling cascade and the metalloproteinase 13 (MMP-13) expression were also found downregulated by epiberberine. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that epiberberine suppresses cell migration and invasion by regulating the JNK pathway and MMP-13. These results suggest that epiberberine could be a potential antimetastatic agent in HNSCC cells.

• Authors: Hsin-Yu Ho, Mu-Kuan Chen, Chia-Chieh Lin, Yu-Sheng Lo, Yi-Ching Chuang, Ming-Ju Hsieh
• Journal: Journal of cellular and molecular medicine (J Cell Mol Med) (Sep 14 2023) ISSN: 1582-4934 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 37710409 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine published by Foundation for Cellular and Molecular Medicine and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.