Objective:To discuss the effect of oridonin on the proliferation,migration,epithelial-mesenchymal transition(EMT),and apoptosis of the human nasopharyngeal carcinoma HONE-1 cells,and to clarify its related antitumor mechanism.Methods:The HONE-1 cells were treated with different concentrations(0,5,10,20,40,80,and 160 mg·L-1)of oridonin for 48 h.CCK-8 method was used to detect the inhibitory rates of proliferation of the cells in various groups and the drug concentration for subsequent experiment was confirmed.The HONE-1 cells were divided into control group,3 mg·L-1 oridonin group,and 6 mg·L-1 oridonin group.After 24 and 48 h of culture,CCK-8 method was used to detect the proliferation activities of the cells in various groups;5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine(EdU)method was used to detect the rates of EdU-positive cells in various groups;colony formation assay was used to detect the numbers of clone formation in the cells in various groups;Transwell chamber experiment and cell wound assay were used to detect the numbers of migration cells and the scratch healing rates of the cells in various groups;real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR(RT-qPCR)method was used to detect the expression levels of cyclin-dependent kinase 1(CDK1)and cyclin-dependent kinase 4(CDK4)mRNA in the cells in various groups;Western blotting method was used to detect the expression levels of E-cadherin,Vimentin,Caspase-3,and poly ADP-ribose polymerase 1(PARP1)proteins in the cells in various groups.Results:The CCK-8 method results showed that the half-maximal inhibitory concentration(IC50)of oridonin at 48 h was 12.18 mg·L-1,and 1/4 IC50 and 1/2 IC50 values were used as the concentrations for subsequent experiments.Compared with control group,after treated for 24 and 48 h,the proliferation activities of the cells in 3 and 6 mg·L-1 oridonin groups were decreased(P<0.05 or P<0.01),the rate of EdU-positive cells were decreased(P<0.05 or P<0.01),the numbers of clone formation and migraton cells were decreased(P<0.05 or P<0.01),the scratch healing rates were decreased(P<0.05 or P<0.01),the expression levels of CDK1 and CDK4 mRNA in the cells were decreased(P<0.05 or P<0.01),the expression levels of E-cadherin,Caspase-3,and PARP1 proteins were increased(P<0.05 or P<0.01),and the expression levels of Vimentin protein were decreased(P<0.05).Conclusion:Oridonin can inhibit the proliferation,clone formation,and migration of the human nasopharyngeal carcinoma HONE-1 cells by downregulating the expression of cell cycle-related proteins and EMT,and promote the apoptosis to exert an antitumor effect.