Molecules, Vol. 24, Pages 3725: Isoliquiritigenin Inhibits Ovarian Cancer Metastasis by Reversing Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition
Molecules, Vol. 24, Pages 3725: Isoliquiritigenin Inhibits Ovarian Cancer Metastasis by Reversing Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition
Molecules doi: 10.3390/molecules24203725
Authors:
Chen Chen
Shuang Huang
Chang-Liang Chen
Sing-Bing Su
Dong-Dong Fang
The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays a prominent role in cancer metastasis. Isoliquiritigenin (ISL), one of the flavonoids in licorice, has been shown to exhibit anticancer activities in many cancer types through various mechanisms. However, it is unknown whether ISL impacts the EMT process. Here, we show that ISL is able to suppress mesenchymal features of ovarian cancer SKOV3 and OVCAR5 cells, evidenced by an apparent morphological change from a mesenchymal to an epithelial phenotype and reduced levels of mesenchymal markers accompanied by the gain of E-cadherin expression. The suppression of EMT is also supported by the observed decrease in cell migration and in vitro invasion upon ISL treatment. Moreover, we show that ISL effectively blocks the intraperitoneal xenograft development of the SKOV3 cell line and prolonged the survival of tumor-bearing mice. These data suggest that ISL inhibits intraperitoneal ovary tumor development through the suppression of EMT, indicating that ISL may be an effective therapeutic agent against ovarian cancer.
Source: Molecules - Category: Chemistry Authors: Chen Chen Shuang Huang Chang-Liang Chen Sing-Bing Su Dong-Dong Fang Tags: Article Source Type: research
More News: Cancer | Cancer & Oncology | Chemistry | Epithelial Cancer | Flavonoids | Licorice | Ovarian Cancer | Ovaries