Title:Dauricine Inhibits Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Development by
Regulating PTEN/AKT/mTOR and Ras/MEK1/2/ERK1/2 Pathways in a
FLT4-dependent Manner
Volume: 24
Issue: 11
Author(s): Jinna Liang, Panpan Lei, Xinyue Su, Jiapan Gao, Bingxi Ren, Yuxiu Zhang, Xiaoyu Ma and Weina Ma*
Affiliation:
- School of Pharmacy, Health Science Center, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710061, P.R. China
- State Key Laboratory
of Shaanxi for Natural Medicines Research and Engineering, Xi’an, 710061, P.R. China
Keywords:
NSCLC, dauricine, VEGFR3, FLT4, cell growth, cell migration.
Abstract:
Objective: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is still a solid tumor with high malignancy
and poor prognosis. Vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 3 (FLT4, VEGFR3) is
overexpressed in NSCLC cells, making it a potential target for NSCLC treatment. In this study, we
aimed to explore the anti-cancer effects of dauricine on NSCLC cells and its mechanism targeting
FLT4.
Methods: We found that dauricine inhibited the growth of NCI-H1299 cells by blocking the cycle
in the G2/M phase through flow cytometry analysis. In addition, dauricine also inhibited the migration
of NCI-H1299 cells by wound healing assay and transwell migration assay. More importantly,
our empirical analysis found the anti-cancer effect of dauricine on NCI-H1299 cells and the protein
level of FLT4 had a distinctly positive correlation, and this effect was weakened after FLT4
knockdown.
Results: It is suggested that dauricine suppressed the growth and migration of NCI-H1299 cells by
targeting FLT4. Furthermore, dauricine inhibited FLT4 downstream pathways, such as
PTEN/AKT/mTOR and Ras/MEK1/2/ERK1/2, thereby regulating cell migration-related molecule
MMP3 and cell cycle-related molecules (CDK1, pCDK1-T161, and cyclin B1).
Conclusion: Dauricine may be a promising FLT4 inhibitor for the treatment of NSCLC.