Inhibitory effects of wogonin on invasion by human oral cancer cells by decreasing the activity of matrix metalloproteinases and urokinase-plasminogen activator

Background/purpose: Wogonin (5,7-dihydroxy-8-methoxyflavone) is a bioactive compound from Scutellariae radix that has been shown to have anticancer effects. However, the effects of wogonin on oral cancer cells still remain speculative. Materials and methods: Cytotoxicity and invasion assays were used to investigate the effects of the human oral cancer cell line OC2 cells exposed to wogonin. To examine the precise involvement of wogonin in cancer metastasis, gelatin and casein zymography were performed to evaluate the impacts of wogonin on matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, MMP-9, and urokinase plasminogen activator (u-PA) secretion in OC2 cells. Results: Wogonin exhibited a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on the invasion of OC2 cells in the absence of cytotoxicity (P < 0.05). Wogonin was also found to decrease the expressions of MMP-2, MMP-9, and u-PA in a concentration-dependent manner (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Taken together, these results suggest that wogonin could inhibit invasion by human oral cancer cells and the inhibitory effects may partially be due to decreased production of MMP-2, MMP-9, and u-PA.