Abstract: Objective To investigate the effects of Fuzheng Yiliu decoction on the proliferation, invasion, migration, apoptosis, autophagy and PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway of non-small cell lung cancer. Methods The non-small cell lung cancer A549 cells were cultured in vitro with different concentrations (12.5 mg/mL, 25 mg/mL, 50 mg/mL, 100 mg/mL, 200 mg/mL, 400 mg/mL) of Fuzheng Yiliu decoction, and the proliferation inhibition rate was determined by the CCK-8 assay; the invasion of cells was detected by Transwell assay; the cell migration was measured by the scratch test; the apoptosis rate was detected by the flow cytometry; the expression levels of autophagy-related proteins and PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway-related proteins were detected by the Western blot, and the formation of autophagy lysosome was observed under the transmission electron microscope. Results After treated with 200 mg/mL and 400 mg/mL of Fuzheng Yiliu decoction, the proliferation inhibition rate of A549 cells was increased (all P<0.05). After treated with 200 mg/mL of Fuzheng Yiliu decoction, the invasion and migration of A549 cells were decreased (all P<0.05); the apoptosis rate of A549 cells was increased (P<0.05); the expression levels of Beclin-1 and LC3Ⅱ/Ⅰ proteins were increased (all P<0.05), while the expression levels of P62 protein was decreased (P<0.05); the number of autophagy lysosomes increased in A549 cells; the expression levels of p-PI3K /PI3K, p-Akt /Akt, and p-MTOR /mTOR proteins were decreased (all P<0.05). Conclusions Fuzheng Yiliu decoction can inhibit the proliferation of A549 cells and promote cell apoptosis and autophagy, which may be related to the inactivation of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway, and may be a potential drug for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer.

Key words: 【Key words】 Non-small cell lung cancer, Fuzheng Yiliu decoction, Proliferation, Apoptosis, Autophagy