Effect of berberine on cancer cell motility in glioma, lung cancer, and prostate cancer cell cultures.
Authors: Timofeeva Sofia V. , Kit Oleg I. , Filippova Svetlana Yu , Sitkovskaya Anastasia O. , Mezhevova Irina V. , Gnennaya Nadezhda V. , Shamova Tatiana V. , Novikova Inna A. , Zlatnik Elena Yu , Enin Yaroslav S. , Burov Oleg N. , Kharagezov Dmitry A. , Stateshny Oleg N. , Milakin Anton G. , Leyman Igor A. , Mirzoyan Ellada A. , Gappoeva Madina A. , Vitkovskaya Victoria N. , Iozefi Kristian D. , Lazutin Yuriy N. 
Published: June 2022

e15079

Background: Initially, berberine was used as an antimicrobial agent in traditional medicine, but its anticancer properties were later discovered. In addition to its cytotoxic effect, berberine also has the ability to inhibit cell motility, which has been demonstrated in some permanent cancer cell lines. The objective of this study was to assess berberine anti-migratory activity in permanent cell cultures compared to primary cell cultures which are generally thought to better reflect tumor characteristics. Methods: H1299 lung cancer, PC3 prostate cancer, and T98G glioma cells, as well as primary cell cultures of the corresponding cancer obtained in our laboratory, were planted in an amount of 15*104 cells per well of a 24-well plate (Biofil, China) in DMEM medium (Gibco, USA) supplemented with 10% FBS (HyClone, USA). After cell adhesion berberine was added in concentration 5 µM, and a wound healing assay was performed according to the standard procedure. Cell plates were continuously incubated and photographed in Lionheart FX imager (BioTek, USA) at 37°C and 5.0% CO2. The extent of cell migration was measured as the percentage reduction in wound area after 48 hours of incubation relative to baseline. Data are presented as Mean ± 95% confidence interval (n = 12). Results: The use of berberine at a concentration of 5 µM led to a significant decrease in cell motility in permanent cultures of lung cancer, glioma and prostate cancer. Namely, the reduction in the wound area after 48 hours of incubation with bereberine was 74.52±12.3% (compared with 94.56±6.2% in the control) in H1299 cell culture, 38.22±10.6% (compared with 83.89±15.5% in the control) in T98G cell culture, and 48.6±7.5% (compared with 69.56±8.1% in the control) in PC3 cell culture. The resulting difference between the control and experimental groups in permanent cell cultures was statistically significant at a significance level of 5% (df = 22). At the same time, the values of wound area reduction for primary cultures of the same cancers did not differ significantly in the control and under the influence of 5 μM berberine at the accepted level of significance. Namely, the reduction in the wound area after 48 hours of incubation with bereberine was 84.79±11.2% (compared with 81.47±15.3% in the control) in lung cancer primary cell culture, 94.64±5.1% (compared with 91.73±6.8% in the control) in glioma primary culture, and 62.63±5.8% (compared with 61.1±8.9% in the control) in prostate cancer primary cell culture. Conclusions: Permanent cell lines are more sensitive to berberine anti-migratory activity than primary cancer cell lines of the same localization.