According to a study from Xian, People's Republic of China, "Silibinin is known to exert growth inhibition and cell death together with cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in human prostate cancer cells. Whether silibinin could inhibit the invasion, motility and migration of prostate cancer cells remains largely unknown."
"This study was designed to evaluate this efficacy and possible mechanisms using a novel highly bone metastatic ARCaP(M) cell model. Four prostate cancer cell lines, LNCaP, PC-3, DU145, and ARCaPM, were used in this study. These cells were treated with increasing concentrations of silibinin (50, 100, and 200 mu mol/L) for different periods of time. After treatment, cell viabilities of four prostate cancer cells were compared by MTT assay. Alterations of ARCaPM cell invasion, motility and migration were assessed by cell invasion, motility and wound healing assays. The changes of vimentin expression were observed by Western blotting and immunofluorescence staining, and the expression of MMP-2, MMP-9, and uPA was analyzed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). ARCaPM cells showed less sensitivity to the growth inhibition of pharmacological doses of silibinin than LNCaP, PC-3, and DU145 cells. However, silibinin exerted significant dose- and time-dependent inhibitory effects on the invasion, motility and migration of ARCaPM cells. Furthermore, the expression of vimentin and MMP-2, but not MMP-9 or uPA, was down-regulated in a dose- and time-dependent manner after treatment of silibinin," wrote K.J. Wu and colleagues (see also Prostate Cancer).
The researchers concluded: "This study shows that silibinin could inhibit the invasion, motility and migration of ARCaPM cells via down-regulation of vimentin and MMP-2 and therefore may be a promising agent against prostate cancer bone metastasis."
Wu and colleagues published their study in Acta Pharmacologica Sinica (Silibinin inhibits prostate cancer invasion, motility and migration by suppressing vimentin and MMP-2 expression. Acta Pharmacologica Sinica, 2009;30(8):1162-1168).
For more information, contact D.L. He, Xi An Jiao Tong University, Affiliated Hospital 1, School Medical, Dept. of Urology, Xian 710061, People's Republic of China.
Publisher contact information for the journal Acta Pharmacologica Sinica is: Nature Publishing Group, Macmillan Building, 4 Crinan St., London N1 9XW, England.
Keywords: People's Republic of China, Xian, Apoptosis, Bone, Oncology, Pharmaceuticals, Prostate Cancer, Prostatic Neoplasms.
This article was prepared by Hospital Business Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2009, Hospital Business Week via NewsRx.com.
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