Background: Current therapeutic strategies on patients with lymphomas remains limited. Previously we found the suppressive effect of Ophiorrhiza pumila (OPE) on hepatocarcinoma. In present study, the effect of OPE on lymphoma in vitro and in vivo were investigated. Methods: CCK-8 assay was applied to detect the effect of OPE on cell proliferation. Flow cytometry was used to analyze the effect of OPE on cell cycle distribution and apoptosis. Xenograft mouse model was conducted to determine the anti-tumor activity of OPE. TNUEL assay was performed to detect the apoptosis in tumor tissues. Western blot and immuno-histochemistry were used to determine protein expression. Results: In vitro tests indicate that OPE suppressed A20 cell proliferation in a dose- and time-dependent manner. OPE treatment induced cell cycle arrest at S phase and elevated apoptosis in A20 cells. OPE displayed a significant inhibition in tumor growth in a mouse xenograft model. OPE promoted apoptosis of tumor cell in the mouse model Cleaved caspase 3 expression and Bax/Bcl2 ratio were also enhanced. In addition, OPE suppressed A20 cell viability partially by reducing phosphorylation of EGFR. Conclusions: Our data showed that OPE suppressed the proliferation of lymphoma cells and promoted apoptosis in vitro and in vivo , which might be partially mediated by inactivating EGFR signaling.

BackgroundRelapse and drug resistance of lymphomas are common, howerver the treatment efficacy of current therapeutic strategies remains unsatisfied. Our current study revealed that the extract of Ophiorrhiza pumila (OPE) has a potential anti-liver cancer activity. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of OPE on preventing lymphomas and explored the underlying mechanisms.MethodsCCK-8 assay was applied to detect the effect of OPE on cell proliferation. Flow cytometry was used to analyzed the effect of OPE on cell cycle distribution, and apoptosis. Xenograft mouse model was conducted to determine the anti-tumor activity of OPE. TNUEL assay was performed to detect the apoptosis in tumor tissues. Western blot and immunohistochemistry were used to determined protein expression.ResultsOPE decreased A20 cell proliferation in a dose- and time-dependent manner. OPE treatment induced cell cycle arrest at S phase and elevated apoptosis in A20 cells. Moreover, OPE displayed a significant inhibition in tumor growth in a mouse model. OPE increased apoptosis in tumor tissues revealed by TUNEL assay, which was companied with enhanced cleaved caspase 3 expression and Bax/Bcl2 ratio. In addition, our data showed that OPE suppressed A20 cell viability partially by reducing EGFR phosphorylation.ConclusionsOur data showed that OPE has an inhibitory effect on A20 cell proliferation and tumor growth, which is mediated by inactivation of EGFR and enhanced apoptosis.