BackgroundUrokinase (uPA) and its receptor (uPAR) play an important role in tumour growth and metastasis, and overexpression of these molecules is strongly correlated with poor prognosis in a variety of malignant tumours. Targeting the excessive activation of this system as well as the proliferation of the tumour vascular endothelial cell would be expected to prevent tumour neovasculature and halt tumour development. The amino terminal fragment (ATF) of urokinase has been confirmed effective to inhibit the proliferation, migration and invasiveness of cancer cells via interrupting the interaction of uPA and uPAR. Triptolide (TPL) is a purified diterpenoid isolated from the Chinese herb Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F that has shown antitumor activities in various cancer cell types. However, its therapeutic application is limited by its toxicity in normal tissues and complications caused in patients. In this study, we attempted to investigate the synergistic anticancer activity of TPL and ATF in various solid tumour cells.
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