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Osthole, a natural coumarin derivative, is extracted from the fruit of Cnidium monnieriCusson. Breast cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers and the leading cause of death in women. Recent studies have shown that Osthole has anti-tumor activity. However, the effects of Osthole on the migration and invasion of cancer cells have not yet been reported. Here, we found that Osthole is effective in inhibiting the migration and invasion of breast cancer cells by wound healing and transwell assays. Luciferase and zymography assays revealed that Osthole effectively inhibits matrix metalloproteinase-2 promoter and enzyme activity, which might be one of the causes that lead to the inhibition of migration and invasion by Osthole. This is the first report on the inhibitory function of Osthole in migration and invasion in breast cancer cells. Our findings indicate a need for further evaluation of Osthole in breast cancer chemotherapy and chemoprevention.

PISP1, a heteropolysaccharide isolated from fruiting bodies of Phellinus igniariusby hot aqueous extraction and purified by DEAE-Sepharose anion-exchange and gel filtration chromatography, is composed of fucose, galactose, mannose, and 3-O-Me-galactose in a ratio of 1:2:1:2. Methylation, monosaccharide analysis, and NMR studies (1H NMR, 13C NMR, COSY-45°, TOCSY, ROESY, HSQC, and HMBC) revealed that PISP1 had a backbone consisting of 1,6-disubstituted-3-O-Me-α-D-galactopyranosyl residue, 1,3,6-trisubstituted-α-D-manopyranosyl residue, 1,4-disubstituted-α-D-galactopyranosyl residue, and 1,2-disubstituted-α-D-galactopyranosyl residue, and had a 1-substituted-α-L-fucopyranosyl terminal attached to O-3 of a manopyranosyl residue. Preliminary bioactivity tests conducted in vitrorevealed that PISP1 stimulated the proliferation of mouse spleen lymphocytes.