Antimetastatic activities of Selaginella tamariscina (Beauv.) on lung cancer cells in vitro and in vivo

• Published in: Journal of ethnopharmacology 2007-04, Vol.110 (3), p.483-489
• Main Authors: Yang, Shun Fa, Chu, Shu Chen, Liu, Shang Jung, Chen, Yi Chen, Chang, Yan Zin, Hsieh, Yih Shou
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; antineoplastic agents; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic - administration & dosage; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic - pharmacology; Biological and medical sciences; Carcinoma, Lewis Lung - drug therapy; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Survival; chemical constituents of plants; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; ethnobotany; General pharmacology; herbal medicines; human cell lines; Invasion; lung neoplasms; Lung Neoplasms - drug therapy; Male; Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 - drug effects; Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 - metabolism; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 - drug effects; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 - metabolism; Medical sciences; medicinal plants; medicinal properties; Medicine, Chinese Traditional; metastasis; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; MMP-2; Motility; Neoplasm Invasiveness; Neoplasm Metastasis - drug therapy; Oriental traditional medicine; Pharmacognosy. Homeopathy. Health food; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Phytotherapy; plant extracts; Plant Extracts - administration & dosage; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Plants, Medicinal - chemistry; Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1 - metabolism; Selaginella; Selaginella tamariscina; Selaginellaceae - chemistry; Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-2 - drug effects; Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-2 - metabolism; u-PA; Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator - drug effects; Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator - metabolism
• ISSN: 0378-8741; 1872-7573
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2006.10.010

Selaginella tamariscina is a traditional Chinese herb for the therapy of chronic trachitis and has been approved some anti-tumor activity. However, the anti-metastasis effects of Selaginella tamariscina in the lung cancer have not been understood clearly. The objectives of study were to investigate the effects of the Selaginella tamariscina extracts (STE) on the invasion and motility of highly metastatic A549 and Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cells. To further investigate the precise involvement of STE in tumor metastasis, A549 and LLC cells were treated with STE at various concentrations (0–100 μg/mL) for a specified period. The results from zymography showed that a STE treatment decreased ( p < 0.05) the expressions of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, -9 and urokinase plasminogen activator (u-PA) in a dose-dependent manner in the A549 and LLC cell. Meanwhile, their endogenous inhibitors, which are tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP-2) and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), were increased in the A549 cell. Furthermore, the inhibitory effect of STE on the growth and metastasis of LLC cells in vivo was also proven. These results demonstrated that STE could be a candidate antimetastatic agent against lung cancer.