Flavonoid GL-V9 suppresses invasion and migration of human colorectal cancer cells by inhibiting PI3K/Akt and MMP-2/9 signaling

• Published in: Journal of Cancer Vol. 12; no. 15; pp. 4542 - 4551
• Main Authors: Gu, Ye, Yu, Jiejie, Ding, Cong, Zhou, Yifeng, Yang, Jiangfeng, Yu, WeiPing, Zhang, Xiaofeng, Huang, Haitao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wyoming Ivyspring International Publisher Pty Ltd 01.01.2021; Ivyspring International Publisher
• Subjects: Antibodies; Cell culture; Colorectal cancer; Experiments; Extracellular matrix; Flavonoids; Kinases; Medical prognosis; Metastasis; Research Paper; St Louis Missouri; United States > US; China
• ISSN: 1837-9664; 1837-9664
• DOI: 10.7150/jca.58710

Tumor distant metastasis is the primary cause of death in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. GL-V9 is a newly synthesized flavonoid derivative with several beneficial biological functions including anti-tumor and anti-inflammation. However, the anti-metastatic effect of GL-V9 and related mechanisms in CRC remains unknown. In this study, the anti-invasive and anti-migratory activities of GL-V9 were investigated in CRC cells. Using MTT assay, cell wound healing assay, and transwell migration assay, we showed that GL-V9 suppressed CRC cell viability, migration, and invasion in a concentration-dependent manner. In addition, the protein expression levels as well as activities of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) were significantly reduced after GL-V9 treatment. Further analysis of the underlying mechanism revealed that GL-V9 inhibited PI3K/Akt signaling pathway upstream of MMP-2 and MMP-9. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that GL-V9 could suppress CRC cell invasion and migration through PI3K/Ak and MMP-2/9 axis. Therefore, GL-V9 might be a potential novel therapeutic agent against CRC metastasis.