J Cancer 2017; 8(18):3876-3886. doi:10.7150/jca.20380 This issue Cite

Research Paper

Aqueous Huaier Extract Suppresses Gastric Cancer Metastasis and Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition by Targeting Twist

Zhiyuan Xu1*, Guowei Zheng1*, Yiping Wang2, Chunli Zhang3, Jianfa Yu1, Fei Teng1, Hang Lv2✉, Xiangdong Cheng1✉

1. Department of gastrointestinal surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China;
2. Key Laboratory of integrated traditional Chinese and Western Medicine for diagnosis and treatment of digestive system tumor, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China;
3. Department of pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
* Zhiyuan Xu and Guowei Zheng contributed equally to this work

Citation:
Xu Z, Zheng G, Wang Y, Zhang C, Yu J, Teng F, Lv H, Cheng X. Aqueous Huaier Extract Suppresses Gastric Cancer Metastasis and Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition by Targeting Twist. J Cancer 2017; 8(18):3876-3886. doi:10.7150/jca.20380. https://www.jcancer.org/v08p3876.htm
Other styles

File import instruction

Abstract

Trametes robiniophila Murr. (Huaier) is a widely used anti-cancer agent in China. Strong evidence for the anti-proliferative activity of Huaier has been reported; however, its anti-metastatic potential against gastric cancer (GC) as well as its underlying mechanism of action are unknown. Here, we show that treatment with an aqueous Huaier extract over a range of concentrations significantly suppressed both the invasiveness and migratory ability of GC cells. Huaier could also partly reverse the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), as characterized by increased expression of the epithelial marker E-cadherin and decreased expression of the mesenchymal markers N-cadherin and vimentin. In addition, Huaier-treated cells expressed lower levels of Twist compared to untreated controls, and overexpression of Twist via transfection could partially abolish the anti-metastatic activity of Huaier. Furthermore, elevated Twist expression was correlated with an advanced TNM stage, a high rate of lymph node metastasis, and reduced disease-free survival in GC patients. These findings reveal a novel anti-metastatic mechanism for Huaier, which inhibits the EMT by targeting Twist, suggesting its potential application against a GC relapse.

Keywords: gastric cancer, Huaier, metastasis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition.


Citation styles

APA
Xu, Z., Zheng, G., Wang, Y., Zhang, C., Yu, J., Teng, F., Lv, H., Cheng, X. (2017). Aqueous Huaier Extract Suppresses Gastric Cancer Metastasis and Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition by Targeting Twist. Journal of Cancer, 8(18), 3876-3886. https://doi.org/10.7150/jca.20380.

ACS
Xu, Z.; Zheng, G.; Wang, Y.; Zhang, C.; Yu, J.; Teng, F.; Lv, H.; Cheng, X. Aqueous Huaier Extract Suppresses Gastric Cancer Metastasis and Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition by Targeting Twist. J. Cancer 2017, 8 (18), 3876-3886. DOI: 10.7150/jca.20380.

NLM
Xu Z, Zheng G, Wang Y, Zhang C, Yu J, Teng F, Lv H, Cheng X. Aqueous Huaier Extract Suppresses Gastric Cancer Metastasis and Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition by Targeting Twist. J Cancer 2017; 8(18):3876-3886. doi:10.7150/jca.20380. https://www.jcancer.org/v08p3876.htm

CSE
Xu Z, Zheng G, Wang Y, Zhang C, Yu J, Teng F, Lv H, Cheng X. 2017. Aqueous Huaier Extract Suppresses Gastric Cancer Metastasis and Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition by Targeting Twist. J Cancer. 8(18):3876-3886.

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY-NC) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). See http://ivyspring.com/terms for full terms and conditions.
Popup Image