As the most frequent cause of cancer-related death worldwide, lung cancer is closely related to inflammation. The interaction between tumor cells and inflammatory cells promotes tumor development and metastasis. During tumor development, vascular endothelial cells form the most important barrier to prevent tumor cell migration to the blood and tissue. Increased vascular permeability provides favorable conditions for the migration of tumor cells, and endothelial tight junctions are an important component of the vascular barrier. Protein kinase C δ is involved in the occurrence of non-small cell lung cancer and regulates vascular permeability and tight junction protein expression. Src kinase was reported to play an important role in TNF-α-induced endothelial inflammation. Ophiopogon Saponin C1 is a new chemical compound isolated from Liriope muscari, but its pharmacological activities have not been fully elucidated. Therefore, we tested the protective effects of C1 on endothelial permeability in a model of TNF-α-induced endothelial inflammation by transendothelial electrical resistance and sodium fluorescein assays and verified these results in a nude mouse model of experimental pulmonary adenocarcinoma metastasis. We further elucidated the mechanism of C1, which was based on the PKCδ and Src proteins, by Western blotting. C1 can inhibit lung cancer in vivo, regulate the level of plasma inflammation in tumor-bearing mice, and protect the pulmonary vascular barrier against injury induced by cancer. It was investigated the expression and distribution of the TJ index protein ZO-1 in mouse vascular endothelium and HUVECs and found that C1 could inhibit the degradation and breakage of the ZO-1 protein. Related signaling experiments confirmed that C1 can inhibit TNF-α and activation of PKCδ and Src kinase. This study laid the foundation for further analysis of new drugs with clear mechanisms and independent intellectual property rights of traditional Chinese medicines.
Keywords: Endothelial Cell Permeability; Lung Cancer; Ophiopogon Saponin C1; PKCδ; TNF-α.
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