Preliminary study on the mechanism of Saponin of Schizocapsa plantaginea Hance Ⅰ inhibiting the growth, migration, and invasion of human lung cancer cells

Objective: To investigate the effect of Saponin of Schizocapsa plantaginea Hance Ⅰ(SSPH Ⅰ) on the growth, migration, and invasion of non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC) cells and its mechanism of action.Methods: Molecular docking of SSPH Ⅰ and key target mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor(Met) protein was performed by Autodock software. Colony forming assay and cell counting kit-8(CCK-8) assay were used to detect the cell clone formation ability and cell growth curve. Wound healing assay and Transwell assay were conformed to detect the cell migration and invasion ability. FITC ghost pen peptide fluorescence staining was used to detect the reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton in cells, and western blotting was applied to detect the phosphorylation levels of Met protein. Results: SSPH Ⅰ significantly inhibited the cloning ability, cell activity, migration and invasion ability of A549 and PC9 cells(P<0.05); meanwhile, SSPH Ⅰ significantly inhibited the formation of F-actin cytoskeleton. Molecular docking simulation showed that SSPH Ⅰ and Met had good binding activity. Additionally, the results of western blotting showed that SSPH Ⅰ significantly reduced the phosphorylation levels of Met protein in A549 cells. Conclusion: SSPH Ⅰ significantly inhibits the growth, migration, and invasion of NSCLC cells, and its mechanism may be related to the inhibition of HGF/Met signaling pathway.