Costunolide being a sesquiterpene lactone, is known to have anticancer properties. The present study investigated the anticancer effects of costunolide against the H1299 human non‑small‑cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell line. Inhibition of cell viability by costunolide was assessed via a MTT assay. Furthermore, the apoptotic rate was detected using Annexin V/propidium iodide labeling. A colony forming cell assay was performed to investigate the antiproliferative effects of costunolide. Wound healing and Transwell assays were performed to determine the inhibitory effects of costunolide on migration and invasion, respectively. Western blot analysis was undertaken to determine protein expression, and reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR was performed to assess mRNA expression levels. The results demonstrated that costunolide inhibited the viability of H1299 cells, with a half maximal inhibitory concentration value of 23.93±1.67 µM and induced cellular apoptosis in a dose‑dependent manner. Furthermore, the colony formation, migrative and invasive abilities of the H1299 cells were inhibited in a dose‑ or time‑dependent manner. The protein expression levels of E‑cadherin increased and those of N‑cadherin decreased following treatment with costunolide, which suggested that costunolide inhibited epithelial‑to‑mesenchymal transition. The mRNA levels of B‑Raf, E‑cadherin, N‑cadherin, integrins α2 and β1, as well as matrix metalloproteinases 2 were also found to be regulated costunolide. These findings indicate the potential of costunolide in the treatment of NSCLC.
Keywords: costunolide; anticancer; non-small-cell lung cancer; migration; invasion; epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.