A traditional Chinese medicine formula inhibits tumor growth in mice and regulates the miR-34b/c-Met/β-catenin pathway

Si-Jun-Zi-Tang (SJZT) is a traditional Chinese medicine formula used to treat chronic and debilitating diseases including melanoma. SJZT-based therapies have achieved good clinical outcomes in melanoma management. However, the pharmacological basis of SJZT for its clinical use in melanoma treatment is not fully understood.To investigate the anti-melanoma effects and mechanism of action of an ethanolic extract of SJZT.SJZT was extracted using 50% ethanol. A murine B16 melanoma-bearing mouse model was employed to investigate the anti-melanoma effects of SJZT. microRNA (miRNA) and mRNA levels were examined by RT-qPCR, and protein levels were measured by Western blotting.SJZT significantly inhibited B16 tumor growth in mice. Mechanistic investigations revealed that SJZT elevated miR-34b (a tumor suppressing miRNA), and lowered c-Met (a miR-34b target gene) and β-catenin (a downstream molecule of c-Met signaling) expression levels in the B16 tumors.In this study we found, for the first time, that SJZT exerts anti-melanoma effects and regulates the miR-34b/c-Met/β-catenin pathway in a melanoma mouse model. Our findings provide pharmacological justifications for the clinical use of SJZT in treating melanoma.