Salvianolic acid B inhibits the growth and metastasis of A549 lung cancer cells through the NDRG2/PTEN pathway by inducing oxidative stress.

Salvianolic acid B (Sal B) has demonstrated anticancer activity against various types of cancer. However, the underlying mechanism of Sal B-mediated anticancer effects remains incompletely understood. This study aims to investigate the impact of Sal B on the growth and metastasis of human A549 lung cells, as well as elucidate its potential mechanisms. In this study, different concentrations of Sal B were administered to A549 cells. The effects on migration and invasion abilities were assessed using MTT, wound healing, and transwell assays. Flow cytometry analysis was employed to evaluate Sal B-induced apoptosis in A549 cells. Western blotting and immunohistochemistry were conducted to measure the expression levels of cleaved caspase-3, cleaved PARP, and E-cadherin. Commercial kits were utilized for detecting intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and NAD⁺. Additionally, a xenograft model with transplanted A549 tumors was employed to assess the anti-tumor effect of Sal B in vivo. The expression levels of NDRG2, p-PTEN, and p-AKT were determined through western blotting. Our findings demonstrate that Sal B effectively inhibits proliferation, migration, and invasion in A549 cells while inducing dose-dependent apoptosis. These apoptotic responses and inhibition of tumor cell metastasis are accompanied by alterations in intracellular ROS levels and NAD⁺/NADH ratio. Furthermore, our in vivo experiment reveals that Sal B significantly suppresses A549 tumor growth compared to an untreated control group while promoting increased cleavage of caspase-3 and PARP. Importantly, we observe that Sal B upregulates NDRG2 expression while downregulating p-PTEN and p-AKT expressions. Collectively, our results provide compelling evidence supporting the ability of Sal B to inhibit both growth and metastasis in A549 lung cancer cells through oxidative stress modulation as well as involvement of the NDRG2/PTEN/AKT pathway.