Diosgenin inhibits the epithelial-mesenchymal transition initiation in osteosarcoma cells via the p38MAPK signaling pathway.

Diosgenin is an important basic raw material for the production of steroid hormone drugs. It can be isolated and purified from a variety of traditional Chinese medicines or plants. Modern molecular biological studies have shown that diosgenin inhibits various tumor cells migration and invasion ability to varying degrees in vitro and in vivo. The aim of the present study was to observe the inhibitory effects of diosgenin on the invasive and metastatic capabilities of osteosarcoma cells and to determine the association between the effects of diosgenin on the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Wound healing and Transwell assays were used to observe the inhibitory effects of diosgenin on the invasion and migration of two osteosarcoma cell lines. Immunofluorescence was used to observe changes in transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) protein expression levels in the osteosarcoma cells following drug administration. EMT-associated proteins, including TGFβ1, E-cadherin and vimentin were detected by western blotting, which demonstrated that the drug may inhibit the initiation of EMT in osteosarcoma cells. Western blot analysis of the expression of all the proteins in the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway demonstrated that the drug inhibited the MAPK signaling pathway. The primary mechanism of action of diosgenin was the inhibition of the phosphorylated p38 (pP38) protein. Through a combination of inhibitors of the p38MAPK signaling pathway and detection of the downstream EMT marker protein E-cadherin by quantitative PCR, pP38 was confirmed to be a target of diosgenin in the inhibition of EMT in the osteosarcoma cells via the MAPK molecular signaling pathway. Diosgenin may exhibit utility as an auxiliary drug for the clinical reduction of metastasis in patients with osteosarcoma.