Irisin suppresses the migration, proliferation, and invasion of lung cancer cells via inhibition of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition

Irisin is involved in promoting metabolism, immune regulation, and affects chronic inflammation in many systemic diseases, including gastric cancer. However, the role of irisin in lung cancer is not well characterized. To determine whether irisin has a protective effect against lung cancer, we cultured A549 and NCI-H446 lung cancer cells and treated them with irisin. We detected the proliferation by MTT assay, and assessed the migration and invasion of the cells by scratch wound healing assay and Tran-swell assay. The expression levels of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers and the related signaling pathways were detected by western blot analysis. Meanwhile, an inhibitor of PI3K was used to investigate the effect of irsin. Finally, the expression of Snail was detected. We demonstrated that irisin inhibits the proliferation, migration, and invasion of lung cancer cells, and has a novel role in mediating the PI3K/AKT pathway in the cells. Irisin can reverse the activity of EMT and inhibit the expression of Snail via mediating the PI3K/AKT pathway, which is a key regulator of Snail. These results revealed that irisin inhibited EMT and reduced the invasion of lung cancer cells via the PI3K/AKT/Snail pathway.