The Inhibition of Cell Growth Through the EGFR/ERK/MMP-2 Pathway Induced by Ampelopsin in the Human Malignant Melanoma A375 Cell Line

Malignant melanoma is one of the most aggressive skin cancers, having a very high mortality rate. However, its effective treatment is not clear. Ampelopsin, a plant flavonoid, has been reported to inhibit cell growth and/or induce apoptosis in various types of tumor. In this study, it was shown that ampelopsin significantly inhibits melanoma A375 cell line proliferation in a concentration-dependent/time-dependent manner. The flow cytometric data clearly demonstrated that ampelopsin causes cell cycle arrest in the G₂/M phase. Moreover, it also confirmed that growth inhibition mediated by treatment with ampelopsin is related to the decreased expression of Cdc2, Cdc25c, cyclin B1, and activation of caspase-3 and Bax, purportedly by epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), extracellular regulated protein kinases, and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) downregulation. As a result of this work, these findings suggest that ampelopsin inhibits human malignant melanoma A375 cell line proliferation by suppressing the EGFR/ERK/MMP-2 pathway.