Authors: Wenwen Gu, Mengdi Zhang, Fan Gao, Yuji Niu, Luyao Sun, Haojie Xia, Wenwen Li, Yaru Zhang, Zhenzhen Guo, Gangjun Du

Journal: International Immunopharmacology (2022)

Institution: Pharmaceutical College of Henan University

Research Areas: Cancer research

Cell Lines: U937, A549 (human tissue lymphoma cells, lung cancer cells)

Summary: Berberine is the active compound in Coptis Chinensis Franch, traditionally used to treat malignant sores and cancer. In vitro, Protein arginine deaminase 4 (PAD4) overexpression affects the cell-activated state in macrophages by promoting epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of A549 lung cancer cells and inhibiting cell apoptosis. The authors investigated if berberine can prevent lung cancer and explore its effect on PADI4-related macrophage function. Results suggested berberine can significantly inhibit PADI4 expression by reversing the macrophage-activated state and the lung cancer-promoting effect of PADI4-overexpressed macrophages. This finding provides a novel understanding and evidence for using berberine to prevent lung cancer.HoloMonitor M4 is used for cell morphology study for co-culturing.

Keywords: Lung cancer, Berberine, PADI4, Macrophage, IRF5