β-Lapachone suppresses the lung metastasis of melanoma via the MAPK signaling pathway

beta-Lapachone is a natural quinone compound from Lapacho trees, which has various pharmacological effects such as anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral, and anti-inflammatory activities. However, the effect of beta-lapachone on metastasis of melanoma cells is unclear. In this study, beta-lapachone reduced cell viability of metastatic melanoma cancer cell lines B16F10 and B16BL6 through induction of apoptosis via the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. Additionally, flow cytometry results showed that beta-lapachone increased DNA content in the G0/G1 phase of the cell cycle. Analysis of the mechanisms of these events indicated that beta-lapachone regulated the expression of Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, and Bax, resulting in the activation of caspase-3, -8, -9, and poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP). Moreover, the beta-lapachone-administered group showed significantly decreased lung metastasis in the experimental mouse model. In conclusion, our study demonstrates the inhibitory effect of beta-lapachone on lung metastasis of melanoma cells and provides a new insight into the role of beta-lapachone as a potential antitumor agent.