Inhibitory effect of aloe-emodin on metastasis potential in HO-8910PM cell line

Aloe-emodin (AE) has been demonstrated to have antitumor activity in several tumor cells. However, no information is available on the effect of AE on metastasis in human carcinoma cells. This study was designed to investigate the inhibitory effect of AE on the metastasis potential of HO-8910PM cell line in vitro, and the role of AE in focal adhesion kinase (FAK) expression. Transwell chamber assay was performed to determine the effect of AE on the invasion and migration capacities of the cells. The effect of AE on the adhesion potential of HO-8910PM cells was determined by cell–Matrigel adhesion assay. We found that AE significantly inhibited invasion, migration, and adhesion capacities of HO-8910PM cells, and, furthermore, reduced the protein and mRNA expression of FAK. These findings suggest that the possible mechanistic explanation for the inhibitory effect of AE on metastasis potential in vitro is involved in FAK expression.