Thesis (M.Sc. in Pharm)--Chulalongkorn University, 2013

Knowledge regarding substances that attenuate motility of cancer cells has garnered significant attention as they may benefit a development of novel anti-cancer strategies. In lung cancer, the metastasis has become an important cause of cancer-related death. Metastasis of cancer cells composes of several steps and the migratory activity of cancer cells is the prominent factor for successful metastasis. The present study aimed to investigate the anti-migration effects of artonin E in H460 lung cancer cells. Artonin E, an active flavonoid from bark of Artocarpus gomezianus, was reported herein for the first time to exhibit anti-migration activity of H460 human non-small cell lung cancer cells. Cell morphology observation revealed that treatment of the cells with non-toxic concentrations of artonin E resulted in a decrease of filopodia formation. Artonin E was shown to inhibit activated focal adhesion kinase (FAK), suppress downstream protein kinase B (Akt) activation, and decrease cell division cycle 42 (Cdc42) levels, which were responsible for anti-motility effect of such a compound. Also, artonin E inhibited migration in other lung cancer cells, namely H292, H23 and A549 cells. These results reveal that artonin E may be a promising candidate for anti-metastasis and anti-cancer approaches to improve survival of lung cancer patients.