To investigate the mechanism of polyphyllin I(PP I)mediating Wntβ-catenin signaling pathway on growth of nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC)CNE1 cells and epithelial-mesenchymal transition.Methods:NPC CNE1 cells were cultured in vitro.They were divided into blank group(Control),low-concentration PP I group(5 μmol/L),medium-concentration PP I group(10 μmol/L)and high-concentration PP I group(20 μmol/L),given corresponding dose of PP I,respectively.Cell growth was detected by brdu assay.The apoptosis was detected by Hoechst 33258 staining.Cell invasion was detected by Transwell.The expression of N-cadherin,E-cadherin,Wnt,β-catenin and TCF4 was detected by Western blot.The immunofluorescence was performed to detect Vimentin expression.Results:Compared with the blank group,the apoptosis rates of NPC CNE1 cells and expression levels of E-cadherin protein in each group treated with PP I were significantly increased.The above indexes were significantly increased with the increase of PP I concentration(P<0.05).Compared with the blank group,the positive rates of NPC CNE1 cells by Brdu staining per unit area,number of invasive NPC CNE1 cells per unit area,expression levels of N-cadherin,Wnt,β-catenin and TCF4 protein and number of Vimentin luminescence points in each cell detected by immunofluorescence in each group treated with PPI were significantly decreased.The decrease of the above-mentioned indexes was more significant with increase of PP I concentration(P<0.05).Conclusion:PP I can inhibit NPC CNE1 cells epithelial-mesenchymal transition by mediating Wntβ-catenin signaling pathway thus inhibiting malignant biological behavior such as invasion and migration,and promote apoptosis of NPC CNE1 cells,showing concentration-dependence within a certain concentration range.