Abstract 2011: Potassium usnate inhibits invasion and metastasis in colorectal cancer: Implication of clinical application of a water-soluble form of usnic acid in anticancer therapy

Usnic acid (UA), a lichen secondary substance, has considerable anticancer activity in vitro, whereas its effect in vivo is limited. Here, potassium usnate (KU) was prepared by the salinization of UA to enhance its water solubility. KU showed increased bioavailability compared with UA in the tumor, liver, and plasma of a CT26 syngeneic mouse tumor xenograft model after oral administration, as determined by LC-MS/MS analysis. KU exhibited potent anticancer effects on colorectal cancer cells and inhibited liver metastasis in an orthotopic murine colorectal cancer model. KU treatment downregulated the epithelial-mesenchymal markers Twist, Snail, and Slug and the metastasis-related genes CAPN1, CDC42, CFL1, IGF1, WASF1, and WASL in cells and tumor tissues. The present results suggest the potential application of the water-soluble form of UA, KU, in anticancer therapy. Citation Format: Yi Yang, Woo Kyun Bae, Kyung Hwa Lee, Kyung-Sub Moon, So-Yeon Park, Rui Zhou, Isa Taş, Chathurika Gamage, Sueun Lee, Chaeyong Jung, Kyung Keun Kim, Hyung-Ho Ha, Hangun Kim. Potassium usnate inhibits invasion and metastasis in colorectal cancer: Implication of clinical application of a water-soluble form of usnic acid in anticancer therapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2011.