L48H37, a curcumin analog, suppresses matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression and activity to hamper nasopharyngeal cancer cell migration

Objective

Metastatic disease is a major issue of treatment failure in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients and often linked to high mortality. L48H37, a synthetic analog of curcumin with augmented bioavailability over its parent compound, has demonstrated several oncostatic characteristics. This study was aimed to explore the anti-metastatic effect of L48H37 on NPC cancer cells and its underlying mechanism.

Methods

Cell viability was evaluated using MTT assay. Regulation of signaling pathways was elucidated by immunoblotting, and specific kinase inhibitors.

Results

In this study, we showed that L48H37 suppressed TPA-stimulated invasive and migratory capacities of NPC cell lines and gave rise to very little cytotoxic responses. Such anti-cancer effect of L48H37 was accompanied with attenuated expression levels and enzymatic activities of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), a pivotal mediator of metastatic processes. In addition, L48H37 interfered with TPA-induced JNK activation, and the treatment of L48H37 combined with a JNK antagonist demonstrated a synergistic effect on restraining TPA-stimulated MMP-9 activity and migration events in NPC cells.

Conclusions

Our results revealed that L48H37 impeded the invasive potential of NPC cells via impairment of MMP-9 function and abundance, highlighting possible complementary therapies using curcumin or its effective analogs to manage NPC dissemination.