Frontiers in Endocrinology (Sep 2020)

Sodium Danshensu Inhibits Oral Cancer Cell Migration and Invasion by Modulating p38 Signaling Pathway

  • V. Bharath Kumar,
  • Shu-Hui Lin,
  • Shu-Hui Lin,
  • B. Mahalakshmi,
  • Yu-Sheng Lo,
  • Chia-Chieh Lin,
  • Yi-Ching Chuang,
  • Ming-Ju Hsieh,
  • Ming-Ju Hsieh,
  • Ming-Ju Hsieh,
  • Ming-Ju Hsieh,
  • Mu-Kuan Chen

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2020.568436
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11

Abstract

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Background: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) that comprises about 90% of all oral cancer cases is associated with poor prognosis due to its highly metastatic nature. The majority of OSCC treatment options are related detrimental side-effects.Hypothesis/Purpose: The present study aimed at deciphering the effects of a bioactive phytochemical, sodium danshensu, on human oral cancer cell metastasis.Methods and Results: The treatment of FaDu and Ca9-22 cells with different doses of sodium danshensu (25, 50, and 100 μM) caused a significant reduction in cellular motility, migration, and invasion, as compared to the untreated cells. This effect was associated with a reduced expression of MMP-2, vimentin and N-cadherin, together with an enhanced expression of E-cadherin and ZO-1. Further investigation on the molecular mechanism revealed that treatment with sodium danshensu caused significant reduction in p38 phosphorylation; however, phosphorylation of ERK1/2 significantly decreased only in FaDu cells, whereas p-JNK1/2 did not show any alteration. A combination of p38 and JNK1/2 inhibitors with sodium danshensu also reduced the migration in the FaDu and Ca9-22 cell lines.Conclusion: Collectively, the present study findings reveal that sodium danshensu execute anti-metastatic effect by suppressing p38 phosphorylation in human oral cancer. The study identifies sodium danshensu as a potential natural anticancer agent that can be used therapeutically to manage highly metastatic OSCC.

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