TY - JOUR AB - Parthenolide has been demonstrated to have anticancer effects against various types of cancer. However, the functional role of parthenolid has yet to be clearly reported in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of parthenolide in RCC 786‑O and ACHN cells. CCK‑8 and colony‑formation assays were used to observe the proliferation of RCC 786‑O and ACHN cells. Migration and invasion abilities were assessed through Transwell assays. The stem cell‑like properties of RCC cell lines were evaluated by mammosphere formation assay. Western blot analysis was used to investigate the metastasis and epithelial‑mesenchymal transition (EMT) induced by parthenolide on the expression levels of MMP2, MMP9, E‑cadherin, N‑cadherin, vimentin and snail. The results revealed that when the cells were treated with various concentrations of parthenolide, the rate of proliferation and growth was decreased in 786‑O and ACHN cells. The number of invasive cells in a field was approximately 170, 90, 40 and 190, 150, 70 in 786‑O and ACHN cells with 0, 4 and 8 µM of parthenolide treatment. MMP‑2/‑9 expression (P<0.05) was inhibited by parthenolide. The protein levels of E‑cadherin were increased (P<0.05) and N‑cadherin, vimentin and snail were decreased (P<0.05) by parthenolide treatment. In addition, Parthenolide inhibited the expression of cancer stem cell markers and the PI3K/AKT pathway. The present study confirmed that parthenolide inhibited RCC cell proliferation and metastasis and suppressed the stem cell‑like properties of RCC cell lines, which could be a potential strategy to treat RCC. However, further molecular mechanisms of parthenolide in RCC should be observed and reported in the future. AD - Department of Pathology, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, Liaoning 116044, P.R. China Department of Biotechnology, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, Liaoning 116044, P.R. China AU - Liu,Dandan AU - Han,Yanyan AU - Liu,Lei AU - Ren,Xinxiu AU - Zhang,Han AU - Fan,Shujun AU - Qin,Tao AU - Li,Lianhong DA - 2021/01/01 DO - 10.3892/ijo.2020.5148 EP - 110 IS - 1 JO - Int J Oncol KW - parthenolide renal cell carcinoma epithelial‑­mesenchymal transition PY - 2021 SN - 1019-6439 1791-2423 SP - 100 ST - Parthenolide inhibits the tumor characteristics of renal cell carcinoma T2 - International Journal of Oncology TI - Parthenolide inhibits the tumor characteristics of renal cell carcinoma UR - https://doi.org/10.3892/ijo.2020.5148 VL - 58 ER -