Erianin inhibits the growth of uveal melanoma cells by regulating VEGF secretion

Abstract Objective: To investigate the effect of erianin on uveal melanoma cells and its underlying mechanism. Erianin is a broad-spectrum antitumor compound, and whether it is effective in uveal melanoma cells is unclear. Methods: B16F10 cells (murine melanoma cells) were divided into 4 experimental groups and 1 control group. The control group was not treated with drugs, and the experimental groups were treated with 3.125 μmol·L -1 , 6.25 μmol·L -1 , 12.5 μmol·L -1 , and 25 μmol·L -1 erianin. A real-time cell electronic analysis system (RT-CES) and CCK-8 assay were used to investigate the effects of different doses of erianin on the growth of uveal melanoma cells. The VEGF-A mRNA expression in uveal melanoma cells was detected by RT‒PCR. ELISAs were used to study the effect of erianin on VEGF-A secretion in uveal melanoma cells. Flow cytometry was used to investigate the effect of erianin on the cell cycle and apoptosis of uveal melanoma cells and its possible mechanism. Results: Uveal melanoma cells in the experimental group (3.125 μmol·L -1 , 6.25 μmol·L -1 , 12.5 μmol·L -1 , and 25 μmol·L -1 ) were treated with erianin for 24 h, and the cell survival rate decreased to 93.93 ± 0.26%, 89.46 ± 2.50%, 64.30 ± 2.45% and 35.06 ± 1.40%, respectively. Erianin downregulated VEGF-A mRNA expression in cells and inhibited the level of VEGF-A in uveal melanoma cells, and the experimental group (25 μmol·L -1 ) had the most obvious inhibitory effect. In addition, compared with those of the control group, the apoptosis rates of the experimental groups (3.125 μmol·L -1 , 6.25 μmol·L -1 , 12.5 μmol·L -1 , and 25 μmol·L -1 ) increased from 0% to 7.29%, 8.25%, 10.04%, and 35.67%, respectively, after 24 h of erianin intervention. The proportion of cells in G1 phase increased from 38.31% to 39.40%, 41.45%, 49.03%, and 59.24%, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusions: Erianin has a significant inhibitory effect on uveal melanoma cells, and its mechanism is to inhibit the level of VEGF and induce apoptosis and S-phase arrest of cells in a concentration-dependent manner.