Baicalein suppresses non small cell lung cancer cell proliferation, invasion and Notch signaling pathway

Baicalein is an important Chinese herbal medicine and has multiple pharmacological activities. However, the biological mechanisms of the anti-tumor effects of Baicalein on non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) still need to be understood.

Human NSCLC A549 and H1299 cells were pretreated with Baicalein or DMSO. Cells viability and transwell cell invasion assays were performed to assess cell proliferation and invasion. QRT-PCR assay was used to analyze mRNA expression levels of Twist1, E-cadhertin, Vimentin, Notch1 and hes-1. Western blot analysis was also performed to determine protein expression.

In the study, we found that Baicalein had a significantly inhibited effect on proliferation ability of A549 and H1299 cells. Cells treated with Baicalein showed a down-regulated expression of CyclinD1 and CDK1 in A549 and H1299 cells. Furthermore, we found that Baicalein significantly inhibited cell invasion and Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) by up-regulating the mRNA and protein expression of E-cadherin and down-regulated the Twist1 and Vimentin expression, Moreover, Treatment of Baicalein down-regulated Notch1 and hes-1 expression in A549 and H1299 cells, which indicated that Baicalein could suppress the Notch signaling pathway.

Our studies suggest that Baicalein may be a potential phytochemical flavonoid for therapeutics of NSCLC and serve as a molecular target for NSCLC.