Title:The Anti-malarial Drug Artesunate Blocks Wnt/β-catenin Pathway and Inhibits Growth, Migration and Invasion of Uveal Melanoma Cells
Volume: 18
Issue: 10
Author(s): Lei Zheng and Jingxuan Pan*
Affiliation:
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou,China
Keywords:
Artesunate, cancer stem-like cells, migration, invasion, uveal melanoma, Wnt/β-catenin.
Abstract: Background: Uveal melanoma is the most common primary intraocular malignancy in
adults. So far, there have been no effective targeted therapeutic agents in patients with uveal melanoma.
Artesunate is a semi-synthetic derivative of artemisinin extracted from traditional Chinese
medicine Artemisia annua L for treatment of severe and multidrug-resistant malaria. Besides its antimalarial
activity, artesunate is identified as an anti-cancer drug due to the inhibition of Wnt/β-
catenin pathway in multiple types of cancer. However, the effect of artesunate on uveal melanoma
remains unknown.
Objective: We evaluated the anti-tumor effects of artesunate on uveal melanoma cells, and analyzed
in terms of Wnt/β-catenin pathway, cell growth, cell death, cell migration, invasion and cancer stemlike
cells (CSCs) properties.
Methods: Primary (92.1, Mel270) and metastatic (Omm1 and Omm2.3) uveal melanoma cells were
used. Immunofluorescence staining, dual luciferase reporter assay, Western blotting, MTS, soft agar
cloning technique, Annexin V/PI analyses, wound healing scratch assay, in vitro transwell migration
and invasion assays, aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) analyses and melanosphere formation assay
et al. were carried out.
Results: Artesunate suppressed the phosphorylation of GSK3β at S9, and lowered the protein level
of β-catenin and its downstream targets (c-Myc, cyclin D1). Artesunate potently inhibited cell viability
and colony formation ability. Treatment with artesunate significantly induced apoptosis. In addition,
artesunate significantly reduced the migration and invasion of uveal melanoma cells, impaired
the traits of CSCs in vitro.
Conclusion: Artesunate may be a potential interest for the therapy of uveal melanoma.
