Abstract: Objective： To investigate the effect of matrine on the invasiveness and expression of heparanas-mRNA in the human colon cancer cell line HT-29. Methods： HT-29 cells were subjected to matrine of different concentrations. Fortyeight hours later, the expression of heparanase-mRNA was determined by semi-quantitative RTPCR, and the level of HPSE protein by western blot. The effect of matrine on HT29 cells was tested by cell Matrigel adhesion assay. The chemotactic migration and the invasive ability of HT-29 cells were determined by Matrigel invasion assay. Results： The expression of hepanase-mRNA and hepanase protein, adhesion, chemotactic migrations and invasiveness of matrine treated HT-29 cells significantly decreased compared with those of the controls(P＜0.01). The inhibitory effect was dose-dependent(P＜0.01). Conclusion： By down-regulating the expression of heparanase-mRNA and hepanase protein, matrine has a significant inhibitory effect on the adhesion and invasiveness of the human colon cancer cell line HT-29 in a dose-dependent manner within a certain range.

Key words: Colon neoplasms, Heparanase, Matrine, Invasiveness