Erxi Wu, assistant professor of pharmaceutical sciences, and Guoying Zhang, a colleague from Yantai University in China, have published the manuscript “Matrine Suppresses Breast Cancer Cell Proliferation and Invasion via VEGF-Akt-NF-kappa B Signaling.” The article appeared in Cytotechnology.

Wu and Zhang's study looked at the anticancer mechanisms in a natural compound known as matrine. They discovered matrine inhibits the cancer cell proliferation and invasion via EGF/VEGF-VEGFR1-Akt-NF-kappa B signaling pathway.

Researchers in Wu's lab study tumor therapeutic targets, anticancer natural products, traditional Chinese medicine, drug discovery, biomarkers and pharmacogenomics.

Wu has a close working relationship with Yantai University in China. He is working on two more manuscripts with Zhang. Xingcun Li, is a visiting scholar from Yatai University and currently is working in Wu’s lab.

Wu joined NDSU in December 2008.