Jianpijiedu fang improves survival of hepatocarcinoma mice by affecting phosphatase and tensin homolog, phosphoinositide 3-kinase, and focal adhesion kinase.

Objective: To investigate the effect of Jianpijiedu Fang (JPJDF) on phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), and focal adhesion kinase (FAK), and on the survival of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) nude mice.
Methods: Forty male nude mice were randomly divided into 4 groups. Human HCC tissue was implanted in the livers of three groups. After 24 h, the three groups were treated respectively with JPJDF (37.5 g/kg), saline (20 mL/kg) and Tegafur (FT-207, 160 mg/kg) once a day for 10 weeks. The control group without implanting the tissue was concurrently treated with saline (20 mL/kg). The survival data and body weight of all mice were recorded, and expression levels of PTEN, PI3K and FAK in normal tissue and cancer tissue of the livers were evaluated with immunohistochemical method.
Results: The cumulative survival rate of the mice in the JPJDF group was higher than those of the other groups. The rate of weight loss was the lowest in JPJDF group. The survivability and weight loss rate in FT-207 group were the poorest in all groups. The expression intensity of PTEN was higher in normal tissues than in cancer tissues, and lower in the normal tissues of HCC models than in that of mice without HCC. The PTEN expression intensity in normal tissue and cancer tissue from mice treated with FT-207 were lower than that from the mice treated with JPJDF or saline. The expression intensity of PI3K was higher in cancer tissue than in normal tissue. The PI3K expression intensity was the lowest in normal tissue and cancer tissue from mice treated with JPJDF, and the intensity from mice treated with FT-207 was the highest. In mice treated with JPJDF, the expression intensity of FAK was higher in the normal tissue and lower in the cancer tissue than those of the other treatment groups.
Conclusion: The mechanism accounting for the prolonged survival of HCC-bearing mice treated with JPJDF might be related to the reduction in weight loss and the benign regulation of PTEN, PI3K, and FAK.