Triptolide Inhibits MCF-7 and HepG2 Cells Invasion and Migration by Inhibiting the Synthesis of Polylactosamine Chains

Triptolide is a bioactive natural products isolated from Tripterygium wilfordii, a traditional Chinese herbal medicine. Clinical studies reveal that triptolide can be used in autoimmune disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis, kidney disease and systemic lupus erythematosus. Recently, some studies revealed that triptolide has anti-tumor effects, which attracts more and more attention. This experiment aimed to explore the relationship between anti-tumor effects of triptolide and N-type polylactosamine. With increasing the concentration of triptolide, the viability of MCF-7 and HepG2 cells was reduced significantly and the polylactosamine expression on these cells declined as well. In addition, the expression of β1, 3-N-acetylglucosamine transferase (β3GnT8) participated in catalyzing the synthesis of N-type polylactosamine was also decreased and the expression of genes and proteins of downstream signaling was altered consequently. Finally, triptolide weakened the cancer cells invasion and migration. All of these indicate that triptolide can impair MCF-7 and HepG2 cells invasion and migration through downregulating the expression of polylactosamine chains. These studies establish that triptolide is a potential novel therapy in breast cancer and hepatic carcinoma.