Abstract: Objective To investigate the effect of Biejiajian Pills on Wnt signal pathway and its inhibitory gene (DKK-1 and
FrpHe) expressions and explore the mechanism underlying the action of Biejiajian Pills to suppress the invasiveness of
hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods Twenty-four Wistar rats were randomized equally into 3 groups for gavage of normal
saline and Biejiajian Pills at 20- and 10-fold clinical doses for 3 days. Blood samples were then collected from the rats, and the
serum was separated and added in HepG2 cell cultures. After 48 h of culture, the cells were collected to determine the cellular
content of β-catenin protein using flow cytometry and detect DKK-1 and FrpHe mRNA expressions using qRT-PCR. Results
HepG2 cells cultured in the presence of sera from rats fed with Biejiajian Pills showed significantly lowered β-catenin protein
expression and obvious down-regulation of DKK-1 mRNA expression, and the effect was correlated with the doses of the drug
administered. The expression of FrpHe mRNA showed no significant differences between the 3 groups. Conclusions Biejiajian
Pills can effectively inhibit the invasiveness and migration of hepatocellular carcinoma cells, which is closely related to
decreased expressions of β-catenin and DKK-1 to cause block of the Wnt/β-catenin signal pathway.