Corosolic acid impairs human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells proliferation by inhibiting cell migration.

The present study aimed to investigate the anticancer effects of corosolic acid (CA) in the human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cell line. A549 cells were treated with increasing concentrations of CA, prior to assessing cell viability, migration rate, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) kinase activity and cytoskeleton structure. In addition, in vivo imaging system was used to analyze the anticancer effects of CA in vivo. Results demonstrated that CA exhibited a low cytotoxicity with a half maximal inhibitory concentration of 65 µM. In addition, 4 µM CA efficiently inhibited A549 cell migration. Furthermore, CA inhibited VEGFR2 kinase activity and disrupted tubulin structure. Data also revealed that CA inhibited A549 cell proliferation in a xenograft mouse model. In conclusion, results from the present study suggested that CA may be used as a novel potential therapy for lung cancer.