Effects of Pinus massoniana bark extract on the adhesion and migration capabilities of HeLa cells

Pinus massoniana Lamb is a Chinese red pine species used in traditional medicine for the treatment of a variety of human health disorders. Recent studies have shown that P. massoniana bark extract (PMBE) has an anti-proliferation effect on cancer cells. However, it is not clear if PMBE affects cancer cell migration and/or invasion. We tested the effect of PMBE, which has B-type procyanidin as its main constituent, on the adhesion and migration capabilities of HeLa cells, a human cervical cancer cell line, cultured in vitro. Our results showed that PMBE has no significant effect on the adhesion capability of HeLa cells, but strongly inhibits their migration. This finding suggests that PMBE could be a potential therapeutic agent for metastatic cancer. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.