Loureirin A Promotes Cell Differentiation and Suppresses Migration and Invasion of Melanoma Cells via WNT and AKT/mTOR signaling Pathways

Resina Draconis is a traditional Chinese medicine, with the in-depth research, its medicinal value in anti-tumor has been revealed. Loureirin A is extracted from Resina Draconis, however, research on the anti-tumor efficacy of Loureirin A is rare. Herein, we investigated the function of Loureirin A in melanoma. Our research demonstrated that Loureirin A inhibited the proliferation of and caused G0/G1 cell cycle arrest in melanoma cells in a concentration-dependent manner. Further study showed that the melanin content and Tyrosinase activity was enhanced after Loureirin A treatment, demonstrated that Loureirin A promoted melanoma cell differentiation, which was accompanied with the reduce of Wnt signaling pathway. Meanwhile, we found that Loureirin A suppressed the migration and invasion of melanoma cells through the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. Taken together, this study demonstrated for the first time the anti-tumor effects of Loureirin A in melanoma cells, which provided a novel therapeutic strategy against melanoma.

Loureirin A; cell differentiation; invasion and migration; melanoma.