Wogonin Inhibits The Mobility And Invasion In Human Gallbladder Carcinoma GBC-SD Cells Through Inducing The Expression Of Maspin

Previous studies have firmly demonstrated that wogonin, a naturally occurring monoflavonoid extracted from the root of the Chinese herb medicine Scutellaria baicalensis, effectively inhibits the proliferation and induces the apoptosis of several cancer cell lines. However, little is known about the action of wogonin on tumor cells at the sub-dose of apoptosis-inducing effect. Here we found that wogonin at the dose of 1-10μM, which did not induce apoptosis, significantly inhibited the mobility and invasion activity of human gallbladder carcinoma GBC-SD cells. In addition, the expressions of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, MMP-9 and phosphorylated extracellular regulated protein kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) but not phosphorylated Akt were dramatically suppressed by wogonin in a concentration-dependent manner. Furthermore, the metastasis suppressor maspin was confirmed as the downstream target of wogonin. Both maspin mRNA and protein were upregulated by wogonin. Interestingly, the knockdown of maspin resulted in almost completely blocking of wogonin-induced inhibition of MMP-2, MMP-9 and phosphorylated ERK1/2 as well as the mobility and invasion activity of GBC-SD cells. These findings suggest that wogonin inhibits cell mobility and invasion by upregulating the metastasis suppressor maspin. Together, these data provide novel insights into the chemoprotective effect of wogonin.