Plantamajoside Inhibits Hepatic Carcinoma Cell Proliferation, Migration, Invasion and Induces Apoptosis Through Regulating Phosphatidylinositol-3-Kinase/ Protein Kinase B Pathway

Background: Plantamajoside (PMS) is the main active compound of Plantago asiatica . It is a traditional Chinese medicine and has been reported to have various biological activities. However, the function of PMS on hepatic carcinoma cells (HCC) and the potential mechanism of action still remains unevaluated. Here, we investigated the effect of PMS on HCC cells and the potential molecular mechanism. Methods: Firstly, HCC cells were treated with different dose of PMS (0, 20, 80 and 160 g/ml). Then, cell viability was determined by MTT assay. Furthermore, we investigated the cell apoptosis, migration and invasion by flow cytometry assay and Transwell assay. In addition, PI3K/AKT related proteins p-AKT and AKT were determined via Western blotting assay. Results: Our results showed that PMS dose-dependently reduced HCC cell viability. PMS also induced HCC cell apoptosis, up-regulated the expression of Bax and down-regulated expression of Bcl-2. In addition, the Bcl-2/Bax ratio was also decreased. The migration and invasion of HCC cells were also consistently suppressed by PMS treatment in a dose-dependent manner. Subsequently, the results indicated that PMS down-regulated the expression of p-AKT, suggesting the inhibition of the PI3K/AKT pathway in HCC progression. Conclusion: The results indicated that PMS could inhibit HCC progression through regulating cell viability, apoptosis, migration, invasion and PI3K/AKT pathway. Thus, PMS might be a hopeful pharmacological agent for the treatment of hepatic carcinoma.