Abstract: The purpose of the present work was to study the inhibitory effect of Euscaphic acid (EA) on the proliferation,invasion and migration of human hepatocarcinoma HepG2 cells.EA was extracted from the pericarps of Euscaphis konishii Hayata. MTT assay was employed to evaluate the proliferative inhibition of EA on HepG2 cells;flow cytometry was adopted to test cell cycle and apoptosis status;wound healing and transwell assays were performed to determine the effect of EA on invasion and migration abilities.The protein and mRNA expression of E-Cadherin,N-Cadherin,Vimentin,MMP-2 and MMP-9 were evaluated using Western blot and qRT-PCR.The results showed that EA significantly inhibits the proliferation of HepG2,with the IC₅₀ of 32.16±4.58,26.45±3.79 and 16.76±4.01 μmol/L for 24,48 and 72 h treatment,respectively.EA induced apoptosis and G0/G1 phase arrest in a dose-dependent manner,suppressed invasion and migration ability of HepG2,and mediated the Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process of HepG2 cells via upregulating the protein and mRNA levels of E-Cadherin and downregulating the protein and mRNA expression of N-Cadherin,Vimentin,MMP-2 and MMP-9.In summary,the inhibition of proliferation,invasion and migration of human heptocarcinoma HepG2 cells by EA probably through the EMT associated signaling pathway.

Key words: euscaphic acid, Euscaphis konishii Hayata, proliferation, invasion, migration