Fuzheng Kang'ai decoction(扶正抗癌方) inhibits cell proliferation,migration and invasion by modulating mir-21-5p/human phosphatase and tensin homology deleted on chromosome ten in lung cancer cells

OBJECTIVE:To elucidate the potential molecular mechanism by which Fuzheng Kang’ai decoction(扶正抗癌方,FZKA)inhibits proliferation,migration,and invasion of lung cancer cells.METHODS:Varying FZKA concentrations were used to manage lung cancer cells(A549 and PC9).We employed:cell counting kit-8(CCK-8)and plate clone formation assays to examine the cell viability;flow cytometry(FCM)to analyze the cycle arrest;transwell and woundhealing assays to assess the cell invasion and migration,respectively.Further,a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction(q RT-PCR)assay was adopted to evaluate the miR-21-5p expression.For protein expression analysis,we employed the Western blot technique.Recombinant miR-21-5p overexpression adenovirus vector harboring GFP was constructed and transfected into A549 and PC9,after which we explored the effect of FZKA on miR-21-5p overexpression.RESULTS:Notably,treatment with FZKA inhibited viability,clone-formation ability,invasion,and migration of lung cancer cells.Mechanistically,FZKA markedly suppressed miR-21-5p expression but elevated the human phosphatase and tensin homology deleted on chromosome ten(PTEN)protein level in both A549 and PC9 cells.Over-expression of miR-21-5p lowered PTEN protein expression.Besides,overexpressed miR-21-5p levels with adenovirus antagonized FZKA-upregulated PTEN protein expression.CONCLUSION:The present study demonstrates how FZKA modulates cell biological behaviors,for instance,it impedes the proliferation by upregulating PTEN expression with miR-21-5p as the target.These findings unveil the potential novel molecular mechanisms from the micro RNA aspect by which FZKA suppresses the growth of human lung cancer cells.