RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Cetyltrimethylammonium Bromide Suppresses the Migration and Invasion of Hepatic Mahlavu Cells by Modulating Fibroblast Growth Factor Signaling JF Anticancer Research JO Anticancer Res FD International Institute of Anticancer Research SP 5059 OP 5069 DO 10.21873/anticanres.14509 VO 40 IS 9 A1 TSAI-KUN WU A1 CHUNG-HUNG CHEN A1 WEI-TING LEE A1 TZU-FEN SU A1 YING-RU PAN A1 FU-MEI HUANG A1 CHIA-JEN LEE YR 2020 UL http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/40/9/5059.abstract AB Background/Aim: Liver cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related mortality globally, of which hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for 85-90% of total primary liver cancer. A drug shortage for HCC therapy triggered us to screen the small-molecule database with a high-throughput cellular screening system. Herein, we examined whether cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) inhibits cellular mobility and invasiveness of Mahlavu HCC cells. Materials and Methods: The effects of CTAB on cell viability were assessed using WST-1 assay, cell-cycle distribution using flow cytometric analysis, migration/invasion using woundhealing and transwell assays, and associated protein levels using western blotting. Results: Treatment of Mahlavu cells with CTAB transformed its mesenchymal spindle-like morphology. In addition, CTAB exerted inhibitory effects on the migration and invasion of Mahlavu cells dose-dependently. CTAB also reduced the protein levels of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP2), MMP9, RAC family small GTPase 1, SNAIL family transcriptional repressor 1 (SNAI1), SNAI2, TWIST family basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor 1 (TWIST1), vimentin, N-cadherin, phospho-fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptor, phospho-phosphoinositide 3-kinase, phospho-v-Akt murine thymoma viral oncogene and phospho-signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 but increased the protein levels of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-1/2 and E-cadherin. Rescue experiments proved that CTAB induced mesenchymal–epithelial transition in Mahlavu cells and this was significantly dose-dependently mitigated by basic FGF. Conclusion: CTAB suppressed the migration and invasion of Mahlavu cells through inhibition of the FGF signaling pathway. CTAB seems to be a potential agent for preventing metastasis of hepatic cancer.