Abstract
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the antineoplastic effect of several herbal medicine mixtures (compositions of Astragalus membranaceu, Angelica gigas, Trichosanthes kirilowii, Panax ginseng, Rhus verniciflua Stokes) on the SNU-80 anaplastic thyroid carcinoma cell line. Methods: MTT assay was used to examine whether our herbal medicine mixtures decreased cell growth rate of SNU-80. Wound healing assay and Transwell invasion assay was performed to investigate whether our herbal medicine mixtures affect the migration and invasion of anaplastic cancer cells, SNU-80. ELISA assay was performed to know if our herbal medicine mixtures suppressed the expression of pro-invasive molecules, such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) secreted from SNU-80. Results: MTT assay demonstrated that A. membranaceus:A. gigas:T. kirilowii=1:1:1 or 3:1:1, A. membranaceus:A. gigas :T. kirilowii:P. ginseng=1:1:1:1 or 3:1:1:1, A. membranaceus:A. gigas:T. kirilowii:P. ginseng:R. verniciflua Stokes=1:1:1:1:1 or 3:1:1:1:1 strongly suppressed the growth of SNU-80. Wound healing assay demonstrated that A. membranaceus:A. gigas=3:1, A. membranaceus:A. gigas:T. kirilowii=1:1:1 or 3:1:1, A. membranaceus:A. gigas:T. kirilowii:P. ginseng=1:1:1:1 or 3:1:1:1, A. membranaceus:A. gigas:T. kirilowii:P. ginseng:R. verniciflua Stokes=1:1:1:1:1 or 3:1:1:1:1 inhibited the migration of SNU-80. Transwell invasion assay demonstrated that A. membranaceus:A. gigas=1:1, A. membranaceus:A. gigas:T. kirilowii =1:1:1 or 3:1:1, A. membranaceus:A. gigas:T. kirilowii:P. ginseng=1:1:1:1, A. membranaceus:A. gigas:T. kirilowii:P. ginseng :R. verniciflua Stokes=1:1:1:1:1 or 3:1:1:1:1 inhibited the invasion of SNU-80. ELISA assay demonstrated that A. membranaceus :A. gigas:T. kirilowii=1:1:1 or 3:1:1, A. membranaceus:A. gigas:T. kirilowii:P. ginseng:R. verniciflua Stokes=1:1:1:1:1 suppressed the expression of VEGF. Also, A. membranaceus:A. gigas=1:1, A. membranaceus:A. gigas:T. kirilowii=1:1:1 or 3:1:1, A. membranaceus :A. gigas:T. kirilowii:P. ginseng=1:1:1:1 or 3:1:1:1, A. membranaceus:A. gigas:T. kirilowii:P. ginseng:R. verniciflua Stokes =1:1:1:1:1 or 3:1:1:1:1 suppressed the expression of MMP-2. Conclusions: The results obtained in this study suggest that several herbal medicine mixtures suppresse the growth and inhibit the migration and invasion of SNU-80, which is anaplastic thyroid cancer cells. Especially, A. membranaceus:A. gigas: T. kirilowii=1:1:1 mixture had a stronger anti-cancer effect.