Abstract
Colchicine is an alkaloid widely used for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, such as gout. It suppresses cell division by inhibiting mitosis. We investigated the anticancer effects of colchicine on human hypopharyngeal cancer cells and the mechanisms underlying its anticancer effects. XTT cell proliferation assay showed that colchicine inhibited the growth and proliferation of human hypopharyngeal cancer cells (FaDu and SNU1041) in a doseand time-dependent manner. Colchicine also inhibited the migration, invasion, and adhesion of hypopharyngeal cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. The levels of mRNA expression and activity of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9) and urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) decreased after treatment with colchicine. Further investigation revealed that colchicine inhibited the phosphorylation of the FAK/SRC complex and paxillin. Tumor volume ratios in colchicine-treated mice (0.1 mg/kg, every 2 days for 14 days) increased less than in control mice. To our knowledge, this is the first report showing that colchicine can suppress cell invasion, migration, and adhesion through reduced expression of MMP9, the uPA system, and the FAK/SRC complex. Colchicine has the potential to prevent disease progression in hypopharyngeal cancer and may have application as an adjunctive treatment.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 6269-6280 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Anticancer Research |
| Volume | 37 |
| Issue number | 11 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Nov 2017 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This research was supported by the St. Vincent’s Hospital, Research Institute of Medical Science in 2014.
Keywords
- Colchicine
- Hypopharyngeal cancer
- Invasion
- Metastasis
