Aim:It has been reported that stem cells are able to home to tumorigenesis and inhibit the proliferation of tumor cells.The purpose of our study was to demon-strate the molecular mechanism of the inhibitory proliferation of hepatoma cells and breast cancer cells mediated by human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs).Methods:The proliferation of H7402 human hepatoma cells and MCF-7 human breast cancer cells was measured by the 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorpora-tion assay and flow cytometry assay after the treatment with conditioned media from hMSCs culture,such as Z3 cells or BMMS-03 cells.The role of NF-kB or the phosphorylation of inhibitor kBoα (p-IkBα) in the depression of hepatoma or breast cancer cells treated with conditioned media from Z3 cells or BMMS-03 cells was examined by reporter gene assay,quantitative real-time PCR,and Weste blot analysis,respectively.Results:The proliferation of H7402 cells and MCF-7 cells was decreased significantly by the BrdU incorporation assay and flow cytometry assay after treatment.The transcriptional activity and mRNA level of NF-kB were downregulated in the treated cells by reporter gene assay and quantitative real-time PCR in a dose-dependent manner.At the protein level,NF-kB and p-IkBα decreased in the treated cells by Weste blot analysis.Conclusion:Conditioned media from hMSCs are able to inhibit the proliferation of tumor cells.NF-kB downregulation is one of reasons for the depression of tumor cell proliferation mediated by hMSCs.