Matrine suppresses breast cancer cell proliferation and invasion via VEGF-Akt-NF-κB signaling

Matrine has shown therapeutic and/or adjuvant therapeutic effects on the treatment of some patients with breast cancer. However, its mechanisms of action are largely unknown. To disclose the mechanisms, we investigated in vitro and ex vivo effects of matrine on the cancer cells. Our results confirmed that matrine significantly suppressed the proliferation of highly-metastatic human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cell line. Matrine displayed synergistic effects with existing anticancer agents celecoxib (the inhibitor of cyclooxygenase-2), trichostatin A (the histone deacetylase inhibitor) and rosiglitazone against the proliferation and VEGF excretions in MDA-MB-231 cells. Matrine induced the apoptosis and cell cycle arrest by reducing the ratios of Bcl-2/Bax protein and mRNA levels in the cancer cells. Matrine significantly reduced the invasion, MMP-9/MMP-2 activation, Akt phosphorylation, nuclear factor κB p-65 expression and DNA binding activity, and mRNA levels of MMP-9, MMP-2, EGF and VEGFR1 in MDA-MB-231 cells. Collectively, our results suggest that matrine inhibits the cancer cell proliferation and invasion via EGF/VEGF-VEGFR1-Akt-NF-κB signaling pathway.