Bladder cancer is the tenth most common cancer. Using human amniotic membrane (hAM) to treat cancer is one of the promising ideas that have emerged in recent years. The aim of the PhD thesis was to investigate the effect of hAM homogenate and extract on different in vitro models of bladder cancer. Using molecular and microscopic methods, we have shown that hAM homogenate and extract reduce the expression of markers of focal adhesion, migration, invasion and proliferation in muscle-invasive urothelial T24 cells and transitional cell papilloma RT4 cells. In addition, we have shown that one of the mechanisms of action is through downregulation of genes and proteins that are part of the FAK/PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway in T24 cancer cells. We have also shown that the hAM homogenate inhibits the expression of focal adhesion proteins and proteins involved in the reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton of cancer urothelial cells. Our research has also confirmed that the hAM preparations have no harmful effects on normal urothelial cells. In conclusion, we have shown that hAM preparations have multitargeted anticancer effect, which further supports the idea of a possible clinical application of hAM homogenate and extract as additional anti-cancer agents in multi-target intravesical therapy after transurethral resection of bladder tumors.
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