The natural product erianin induces melanoma apoptosis through targeting the GSK3α-NF-κB pathway

Abstract

Abstract Erianin has been reported to play key roles in suppressing a wide variety of tumors. However, the anti-carcinogenic mechanism underlying erianin remains to be fully elucidated. The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) was assessed to determine the influence of erianin on melanoma in vitro. In vivo, tumor-bearing models in nude mice were established to investigate the impact of erianin on the growth of melanoma cells. Transcriptome screening was performed to identify meaningful targets. Molecular docking and Western blotting were performed to verify the GSK3α-NF-κB cascade reaction. Herein, we report the finding that erianin is an efficient inhibitor of melanoma. Erianin selectively suppressed the growth of melanoma cells but not normal human melanocytes. Specifically, erianin downregulated the cellular GSK3α-NF-κB pathway to induce melanoma cell apoptosis. Collectively, we initially demonstrated that erianin effectively inhibited melanoma, which was caused by inactivation of GSK3α-NF-κB signaling inducing melanoma cell apoptosis. Thus, the study implies that erianin provides a novel therapeutic strategy for melanoma therapy.