Oxymatrine inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition through regulation of NF-κB signaling in colorectal cancer cells.

Oxymatrine, a traditional Chinese herb extracted from Sophora flavescens Ait., displays strong anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities, but how oxymatrine exhibits anticarcinogenic effects in human colorectal cancer (CRC) remains uncertain. The present study aimed to elucidate the exact mechanism by which oxymatrine exhibits anticarcinogenic effects in CRC using the human colon cancer RKO cell line as the experimental model. CRC cells were treated with oxymatrine, and cell proliferation, migration and invasion were examined by colorimetric MTT, Transwell chamber and wound healing assays, respectively. In addition, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers and p65 were assessed by western blot analysis. Our study demonstrated that oxymatrine hindered the proliferation, migration and invasion of the CRC cells. Mechanistically, we found that oxymatrine modulated the expression of EMT markers including E-cadherin, Snail and N-cadherin, and reduced expression of p65 which is crucial to NF-κB activation. In conclusion, our results indicate that oxymatrine reduces the activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway and inhibits CRC invasion by modulating EMT.