Hibiscus sabdariffa polyphenol-enriched extract inhibits colon carcinoma metastasis associating with FAK and CD44/c-MET signaling

Abstract Hibiscus sabdariffa extracts have multiple bioactivities. Here, we aimed to investigate the anti-metastatic effects of a polyphenol-enriched extract of Hibiscus sabdariffa (HPE) on colon cancer cells. We observed that HPE (≤3 mg/mL) significantly inhibited the cell migration and invasion of human colorectal cancer (CRC) cell DLD-1. In parallel, HPE altered cytoskeletal structure, downregulated the MMP-2, MMP-9, and uPA expression, increased TIMP2, and suppressed FAK and CD44/c-MET signaling in DLD-1 cells. Moreover, we also explored the in vivo anti-metastatic effect of HPE and found that HPE was able to inhibit the DLD-1 cells metastasizing to liver in xenograft animal model. Taken together, our findings indicate that HPE can both in vitro and in vivo inhibit the metastasis of DLD-1 cell, which may associate with the suppression of FAK and CD44/c-MET signaling, suggesting that HPE might be beneficial to the CRC patients receiving chemotherapy.