TY - JOUR T1 - Effect of Agmatine Sulfate on Modulation of Matrix Metalloproteinases <em>via</em> PI3K/Akt-1 in HT1080 Cells JF - Anticancer Research JO - Anticancer Res SP - 6303 LP - 6309 VL - 37 IS - 11 AU - HYEJEONG KIM AU - MOON-MOO KIM Y1 - 2017/11/01 UR - http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/37/11/6303.abstract N2 - Background/Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate the mechanism by which agmatine sulfate induces an anti-metastatic effect in human HT1080 fibrosarcoma cells, by affecting matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Materials and Methods: For the experiments, we used a non-toxic concentration of agmatine, below 512 μM, that was determined using an MTT assay. The effect of agmatine sulfate on metastasis was gelatin zymography, western blot, immunofluorescence staining and cell invasion assay. Results: Agmatine sulfate inhibited MMP-2 activity stimulated by phenazine methosulfate (PMS). Furthermore, the expression level of MMP-2 stimulated by PMS, was decreased, but the expression level of TIMP-1 was increased in the presence of agmatine sulfate. Moreover, it was observed that the expression levels of ERK and p38 were increased, but those of PI3K and Akt-1 associated with the modulation of MMP-2 were decreased in this study. Furthermore, agmatine sulfate decreased the invasion level of human fibrosarcoma cells stimulated by VEGF. Conclusion: These results suggest that agmatine sulfate could inhibit metastasis through inhibition of MMP-2 via the PI3K/Akt-1 signaling pathway. ER -