Abstract: Objective: An artificial lung metastatic mouse model was established by intravenous injection of B16 melanoma cells and the anti-metastatic effect of echinoside A (EA) and ds-echinoside A (DSEA) was investigated. Methods: B16 artificial lung metastatic mice were treated every other day by intraperitoneally injection of EA or DSEA for 25 consecutive days. The mice were then sacrificed and the blood was collected for separating serum. The lungs were dissected to detect metastatic colonies. The serum levels of sialic acids, γ-glutamyltranspeptidase (γ-GT) and hepatic hydroxyproline, hexosamines, and uronic acid contents were measured. Results: EA and DSEA could reduce the quantity of B16 metastasis. High-dose EA and DSEA could inhibit the metastasis by 87.07% and 74.14% (P＜0.01), respectively. The content of serum saliva acid and γ-GT activity were also reduced by both EA and DSEA significantly (P＜0.05, P＜0.01). Biochemical parameters such as hydroxyproline, hexosamines and uronic acid levels in the lung were also significantly reduced by EA and DSEA (P＜0.05, P＜0.01). Conclusion: EA and DSEA can inhibit artificial lung metastases of B16 melanoma cells by inhibiting tumor cell migration and reduce the degree of lung fibrosis.

Key words: echinoside A, ds-echinoside A, artificial lung metastasis, γ-GT, hydroxyproline, hexosamines