Inhibitory Effects of Furanocoumarins From the Roots of Angelica dahurica on Ionizing Radiation-Induced Migration of A549 Human Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Cells

Abstract

Radiation therapy is a very effective tool for the treatment of advanced human lung cancers. However, as one of its malignancy-promoting behaviors, ionizing radiation (IR) increases cell migration and radiation resistance in several lung cancer cells, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. As part of our ongoing search for potent radiotherapy enhancers from medicinal herbs, a chloroform-soluble fraction of the roots of Angelica dahurica was subjected to phytochemical investigation, leading to the isolation of 8 furanocoumarins. Of these, psoralen (1), xanthotoxin (2), and bergapten (3) inhibited IR-induced migration at a non-cytotoxic concentration (50 mu M) in human NSCLC A549 cells. This study is the first to report on the inhibitory activities of these constituents of A. dahurica against IR-induced cancer metastasis.