Antitumor Ability Of Berberine Accompanied By Modulation Of Gut Microbiome In Sarcoma-180 Tumor-Bearing Mice

Background and Objective: Berberine (BBR) is an alkaloid with many pharmaceutical activities. The BBR inhibits the proliferation and induces apoptosis in many cancer cell lines. In current study, the objective was to evaluate the effects of BBR on tumor in vivo and its potential role in modulation of gut microbiome. Materials and Methods: The effects of BBR on the cell cycle and apoptosis of Sarcoma-180 (S-180) cell line were checked by flow cytometry. Hematoxylin-eosin staining and immunohistochemistry staining were used to check the effects of BBR on the S-180 tumor tissues based on S-180 tumor-bearing mice model. The effects of BBR on the gut microbiome of S-180 tumor-bearing mice were studied by 16S rDNA gene analysis. Results: The BBR could induce apoptosis and S phase arrest of S-180 cells in vitro. Tumor index of the BBR-treated group was significantly decreased and BBR-treated tumors showed more necrosis and decreased Ki-67 expression. The 16S rDNA gene analysis demonstrated that the control group of tumor-bearing mice had higher abundance of Prevotellaceae than the BBR treated group (p<0.05). Heat map showed the variations of some dominant bacterial family in the BBR-treated group, the tumor control group and the healthy group. The KEGG pathway analysis showed that several metabolism-related pathways were significantly changed in the three groups. Conclusion: The BBR can inhibit S-180 tumor cells in vitro and in vivo, accompanied by modulation of gut microbiome. The BBR may become a novel agent for prevention and treatment of tumors.