RORα Suppresses Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition and Invasion in Human Gastric Cancer Cells via the Wnt/β-Catenin Pathway.

Retinoid-related orphan receptor alpha (RORα) is involved in tumor development. However, the mechanisms underlying RORα inhibiting epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and invasion are poorly understood in gastric cancer (GC). This study revealed that the decreased expression of RORα is associated with GC development, progression, and prognosis.

Diallyl disulfide inhibits TGF‑β1‑induced upregulation of Rac1 and β‑catenin in epithelial‑mesenchymal transition and tumor growth of gastric cancer.

Transforming growth factor‑β1 (TGF‑β1) has been demonstrated to promote epithelial‑mesenchymal transition (EMT), invasion and proliferation in tumors via the activation of Rac1 and β‑catenin signaling pathways. The present study investigated the effects of diallyl disulfide (DADS) on TGF‑β1‑induced EMT, invasion and growth of gastric cancer cells. TGF‑β1 treatment augmented EMT and invasion, concomitantly with increased expression of TGF‑β1, Rac1 and β‑catenin in gastric cancer cells.

Diallyl disulfide suppresses epithelial-mesenchymal transition, invasion and proliferation by downregulation of LIMK1 in gastric cancer.

Diallyl disulfide (DADS) has been shown to have multi-targeted antitumor activities. We have previously discovered that it has a repressive effect on LIM kinase-1 (LIMK1) expression in gastric cancer MGC803 cells. This suggests that DADS may inhibit epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) by downregulating LIMK1, resulting in the inhibition of invasion and growth in gastric cancer.

Casticin inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition of liver cancer stem cells of the SMMC-7721 cell line through downregulating Twist.

The existence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) is central to the pathogenesis and therapeutic target of human hepatocellular carcinoma. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of casticin on epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of liver cancer stem cells (LCSCs) derived from the SMMC-7721 cell line. Our results demonstrated that CD133 sphere-forming cells (SFCs) sorted from the SMMC-7721 cell line not only possessed a higher capacity to form tumor spheroids , but also had a greater potential to form tumors when implanted in Balb/c-nu mice, indicating that CD133 SFCs possessed similar traits to LCSCs.

Chk1, but not Chk2, is responsible for G2/M phase arrest induced by diallyl disulfide in human gastric cancer BGC823 cells.

Diallyl disulfide (DADS) has been shown to cause G2/M phase cell cycle arrest in several human cancers. Here we demonstrate a mechanism by which DADS induces G2/M phase arrest in BGC823 human gastric cancer cells via Chk1. From cell cycle gene array results, we next confirmed that cyclin B1 expression was decreased by DADS, while the expression of p21, GADD45α and p53 were increased.

Anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effect of carvacrol on human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line HepG-2.

Carvacrol is one of the members of monoterpene phenol and is present in the volatile oils of Thymus vulgaris, Carum copticum, origanum and oregano. It is a safe food additive commonly used in our daily life, and few studies have indicated that carvacrol has anti-hepatocarcinogenic activities. The rationale of the study was to examine whether carvacrol affects apoptosis of human hepatoma HepG2 cells.

Recombinant vascular basement-membrane-derived multifunctional peptide inhibits angiogenesis and growth of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Aim: To investigate the anti-angiogenic and anti-tumor activities of recombinant vascular basement membrane-derived multifunctional peptide (rVBMDMP) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods: HepG2, Bel-7402, Hep-3B, HUVE-12 and L-02 cell lines were cultured in vitro and the inhibitory effect of rVBMDMP on proliferation of cells was detected by MTT assay. The in vivo antitumor efficacy of rVBMDMP on HCC was assessed by HepG2 xenografts in nude mice.