The natural compound ugonin V targets MMP7 production and restricts chondrosarcoma metastasis by suppressing the MEK/ERK/c-Jun signaling pathways

[Display omitted] •Ugonin V inhibits chondrosarcoma cell migration.•Ugonin V restricts chondrosarcoma cell mobility by suppressing MMP7 expression.•Ugonin V regulates MMP7 expression by suppressing MEK/ERK/c-Jun pathways.•The in vivo metastatic cells were inhibited by ugonin V via suppressing MMP7 expression. In the advanced phase, there is a high risk of chondrosarcoma cells metastasizing to various organs. The conventional treatment, surgery, has shown low efficacy in the metastasis stage. In recent years, several ugonin compounds derived from Helminthostachys zeylanica(L.) Hook. have been reported to restrict cell migration in different types of cancer. However, the effect of ugonin on chondrosarcoma remains unclear. Our study surveyed the impact of six ugonin compounds on regulating chondrosarcoma cell motility. Ugonin V showed the most effective effect on inhibiting human chondrosarcoma cell migration by reducing MMP7. We observed that ugonin V inhibited MMP7 levels and restricted chondrosarcoma cell migration via MEK/ERK/c-Jun cascade. Importantly, this study is the first demonstration of ugonin V pharmacology inhibiting chondrosarcoma metastasis in mouse model. Our study provided evidence of ugonin V as a novel candidate for inhibiting chondrosarcoma metastasis by suppressing MMP7 expression through inhibiting the MEK/ERK/c-Jun signaling pathways.