Torilis japonica extract fraction compound, EGFR-targeted inhibition of cancer abnormal metastasis in A549 lung cancer cells

The number of patients who die from lung cancer is steadily increasing. According to the 2012 statistics, lung cancer accounts for the highest percentage of death from cancer in both sexes. Many research studies found that lung cancer can be caused not only by smoking but by outdoor pollution, and it leads to over-activation of various surface proteins in cancer cells. The over-activity of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is implicated as a crucial factor in inducing abnormal metastasis of lung cancer cells. In this study, we investigated the inhibitory effect of Torilis japonica extract (TJE) major fraction compound in A549 lung cancer cells by inhibiting EGFR activity. We confirmed that inhibitory effect of TJE on the abnormal metastasis using invasion assay and 3D cell culture method, as well as the inhibition of EGFR signaling pathway, co-binding with Stat3 and dimer formation for translocation to the nucleus. We confirmed the EGFR targets inhibition of TJE when compared with EGFR knockdown group using siRNA transfection. The CAM assay confirmed once again the efficacy of the TJE. We suggest that TJE is a new potential reagent for EGFR-targeted therapy and anti-abnormal metastasis in A549 lung cancer cells.