title: The antitumor effect of tanshinone IIA on anti-proliferation and decreasing VEGF/VEGFR2 expression on the human non-small cell lung cancer A549 cell line.
abstract: The effects of tanshinone IIA on the proliferation of the human non-small cell lung cancer cell line A549 and its possible mechanism on the VEGF/VEGFR signal pathway were investigated. The exploration of the interaction between tanshinone IIA and its target proteins provides a feasible platform for studying the anticancer mechanism of active components of herbs. The CCK-8 assay was used to evaluate the proliferative activity of A549 cells treated with tanshinone IIA (2.5-80 μmol/L) for 24, 48 and 72 h, respectively. Flow cytometry was used for the detection of cell apoptosis and cell cycle perturbation. VEGF and VEGFR2 expression were studied by Western blotting. The binding mode of tanshinone IIA within the crystal structure of the VEGFR2 protein was evaluated with molecular docking analysis by use of the CDOCKER algorithm in Discovery Studio 2.1. The CCK-8 results showed that tanshinone IIA can significantly inhibit A549 cell proliferation in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Flow cytometry results showed that the apoptosis rate of tested group was higher than the vehicle control, and tanshinone IIA-treated cells accumulated at the S phase, which was higher than the vehicle control. Furthermore, the expression of VEGF and VEGFR2 was decreased in Western blot. Finally, molecular docking analysis revealed that tanshinone IIA could be stably docked into the kinase domain of VEGFR2 protein with its unique modes to form H-bonds with Cys917 and π-π stacking interactions with Val848. In conclusion, tanshinone IIA may suppress A549 proliferation, induce apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at the S phase. This drug may suppress angiogenesis by targeting the protein kinase domains of VEGF/VEGFR2.
authors.affiliation: Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Jiahui
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Heng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Huanghuagang Street Community Health Service Center, Guangzhou 510095, China.
authors.forename: Shihui
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Liwan District Shiweitang Street Community Health Service Center, Guangzhou 510360, China.
authors.forename: Meigui
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Yueyu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Taoli
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou 510006, China.
authors.forename: Dongmei
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Health Care and Physical Examination Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.affiliation: Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Sui-Lin
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Mo
keywords: ADM, adriamycin; CAM, chorioallantoic membrane; CCK-8, cell counting kit-8; DMSO, dimethylsulfoxide; EPCs, endothelial progenitor cells; FBS, fetal bovine serum; FCM, flow cytometry; HRP, horseradish peroxidase; IC50, 50% inhibitory concentration; MD, molecular dynamics; Molecular docking; NS, normal saline; NSCLC, non-small cell lung cancer; Non-small cell lung cancer; PI, propidium iodide; PKB/AKT, protein kinase B; RMSD, root-mean-square deviation; Tan IIA, tanshinone IIA; Tanshinone IIA; VEGF, vascular endothelial growth factor; VEGF/VEGFR signal pathway; mOS, median overall survival; tRR, tumor response rate; vdW, van der Waals force