Dehydroeffusol inhibits viability and epithelial-mesenchymal transition through the Hedgehog and Akt/mTOR signaling pathways in neuroblastoma cells

Neuroblastoma (NB) is the most predominant extracranial solid tumor of infancy in the world. However, current chemotherapy has limited efficacy for more advanced stages of NB due to acquired chemoresistance or acute toxicity in NB patients. Therefore, effective novel anti-NB drugs are desperately needed. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of dehydroeffusol (DHE), a phenanthrene isolated from J. effuses, on NB cells and its underlying mechanism. The results showed that DHE treatment effectively inhibited NB cell viability in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, DHE treatment suppressed the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) process in NB cells by promoting the expression of E-cadherin (E-cad) and restraining the expressions of N-cadherin (N-cad) and vimentin. Also, the invasive capacity and expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in NB cells were inhibited by DHE. Furthermore, DHE suppressed the hedgehog (Hh) and the protein kinase B (Akt)/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathways in NB cells. In conclusion, DHE effectively inhibited the viability and EMT through inactivating the Hh and the Akt/mTOR signaling pathways in NB cells, providing a novel evidence that DHE may be a potential anti-NB drug candidate.