Abstract
Increasing evidence has shown that traditional Chinese medicines and their bioactive components exert an anti-tumor effect, representing a novel treatment strategy. Actinidia chinensis Planch Root extracts (acRoots) have been reported to repress cancer cell proliferation and metastasis. The effect of acRoots on hypopharyngeal carcinoma progression was explored in this study. Firstly, data from MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) and colony formation assays showed that incubation with accRoots reduced cell proliferation of hypopharyngeal carcinoma cells. Moreover, acRoots promoted the cell apoptosis of hypopharyngeal carcinoma. Secondly, cell migration and invasion of hypopharyngeal carcinoma cells were suppressed by acRoots. Thirdly, E2F1 (E2F Transcription Factor 1) and lncRNA MNX1-AS1 (MNX1 antisense RNA 1) were up-regulated in hypopharyngeal carcinoma tissues, and reduced in hypopharyngeal carcinoma cells post acRoots incubation. Overexpression of E2F1 attenuated acRoots-induced decrease in MNX1-AS1 in hypopharyngeal carcinoma cells. Lastly, administration with acRoots retarded in vivo hypopharyngeal carcinoma growth through down-regulation of E2F1-mediated MNX1-AS1. In conclusion, acRoots exerted tumor-suppressive role in hypopharyngeal carcinoma through inhibition of E2F1-mediated MNX1-AS1.