背景/引言：前列腺癌是癌症死亡的第二大原因。目前尚无有效的药物治疗前列腺癌。苦参中提取出的生物碱黄连碱对抑制癌细胞增殖具有效果。本研究旨在探讨黄连碱抑制前列腺癌的机制。我们使用前列腺癌细胞系PC-3和DU145细胞评估了黄连碱的效果。细胞存活率使用细胞计数试剂盒8进行测定。使用ROS分析试剂盒测量细胞内活性氧物种（ROS）水平。细胞凋亡率使用流式细胞仪进行检测。使用免疫印迹法测定与细胞增殖、NF-κB通路和凋亡相关的蛋白水平。结果发现，黄连碱导致S期细胞周期停滞，抑制了前列腺癌细胞的生长和增殖。黄连碱通过抑制体外NF-κB通路的激活来抑制前列腺癌细胞。黄连碱增加ROS作为上游分子抑制了NF-κB通路。我们的结果表明，黄连碱可以有效减少前列腺癌细胞的增殖。ROS/NF-κB轴在黄连碱介导的抗前列腺癌细胞增殖中起重要作用。版权所有© Bentham Science Publishers; 如有任何疑问，请发送邮件至epub@benthamscience.net。

Background/Introduction: Prostate cancer ranks as the second leading cause of cancer death. No effective pharmacological agent is available for prostate cancer treatment. Berbamine is an alkaloid extracted from the Chinese herb berberis, which exerts an effect on inhibiting cancer cell proliferation.This study aimed to explore the mechanism of berbamine in inhibiting prostate cancer.Prostate cancer cell lines PC-3 and DU145 cells were used to evaluate the effects of berbamine. Cell viability was determined using cell-counting kit 8. The intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels were measured using a ROS assay kit. Cell apoptosis rate was examined using flow cytometry. The protein levels associated with cell proliferation, NF-κB pathway, and apoptosis were determined using western blot.It was found that berbamine induced cell cycle arrest in the S phase and inhibited prostate cancer cell growth and proliferation. Berbamine inhibited prostate cancer cells by inhibiting the activation of the NF-κB pathway in vitro. Berbamine increased ROS as an upstream molecule that inhibited the NF-κB pathway.Our results demonstrated that berbamine can effectively reduce the proliferation of prostate cancer cells. The ROS/NF-κB axis plays a crucial role in berbamine-mediated anti-prostate cancer cell proliferation.Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.net.