Salidroside inhibits migration and invasion of poorly differentiated thyroid cancer cells

Background No effective treatment is currently available for poorly differentiated thyroid cancer which is resistant to radioiodine, especially with migration and invasion. A great number of researches have revealed the anticancer effects of salidroside, but none have studied the effects of salidroside on thyroid cancer. This study aimed to investigate the effect of salidroside on migration and invasion of poorly differentiated thyroid cancer cells. Methods The effects of salidroside on migration, invasion and apoptosis of poorly differentiated thyroid cancer WRO cells and normal thyroid follicular epithelial Nthy-ori 3-1 cells were measured by wound-healing assay, transwell migration/invasion assay and flow cytometry, respectively. The expression levels of MMP2 and MMP9 at RNA and protein levels in WRO cells were detected by qRT-PCR and western blot. The phosphorylation levels of Janus kinase 2 (JAK2), signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and the apoptosis-related protein levels of Bax, cleaved caspase 3 and Bcl-2 were assessed by western blot. Results Salidroside significantly suppressed migration/invasion and induced apoptosis in poorly differentiated thyroid cancer WRO cells. We further illustrated that salidroside significantly inhibited expressions of MMP2 and MMP9 at mRNA and protein levels and the phosphorylation activation of JAK2/STAT3 in WRO cells. In addition, salidroside increased expressions of pro-apoptotic factors (Bax and cleaved caspase 3) and decreased expression of anti-apoptotic factor (Bcl-2) significantly in WRO cells. Conclusion The present study demonstrates that salidroside inhibits migration and invasion of WRO cells (a kind of poorly differentiated cancer cell line) significantly, which might be via suppressing JAK2-STAT3 signaling pathway.