Pachymic Acid Inhibits the Migration and Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition of Renal Cell Carcinoma

Abstract

Background: Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a common cancer of the urinary system. Chinese medicine is being extensively used in the treatment of various cancers. Recent studies found that Poria cocos, a widely used Chinese medicine, has an anti-tumor effect. Pachymic acid (PA) is a triterpenoid compound of P. cocos, and the present study investigated whether PA is a main anti-tumor active ingredient of this fungus. Methods: The effects of PA on cell viability, proliferation, adhesion, invasion, and metastasis were assessed by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazole-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazole bromide, colony formation, cell adhesion, wound healing, and Transwell assays. High-content imaging was used to dynamically observe and verify the inhibitory effect of PA on cell motility, and Western blot was used to detect the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-related proteins and epithelial–mesenchymal transformation proteins. Result: The in vitro assays demonstrated that PA was able to reduce the viability, proliferation, adhesion number, wound healing rate, and transmembrane number of the RCC cells. In addition, high-intensive imaging indicated that PA shortened the traveling distance and slowed the movement of the RCC cells. Western blots showed that in the PA-treated RCC cells, E-cadherin expression was increased, whereas N-cadherin and Vimentin expression was decreased. Furthermore, the expression levels of matrix metalloproteinase-2, matrix metalloproteinase-9, and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 were all decreased by the PA administration. Conclusion: PA inhibited the invasion and metastasis of RCC, and these results suggest that PA may be an effective anti-tumor component of P. cocus.

Mechanistic and Functional Studies on the Microbial Induction of Wolfiporia cocos Liquid Fermentation Products

“…The cells and normal culture medium were added to the blank group, and the control group was incubated for 24 h after drug administration. The cell culture medium was discarded from each well, and MTT and cell culture medium were added and incubated for 4 h [40,41]. Approximately 150 µL of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) was added to the culture medium and discarded.…”