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©The Author(s) 2017. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
Molecular mechanisms of apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma cells induced by ethanol extracts of Solanum lyratum Thumb through the mitochondrial pathway
Xiao-Qiang Mo, Hong-Yu Wei, Gan-Rong Huang, Ling-Yuan Xu, Yu-Li Chen, Jiang Qi, Wei Xian, Yan-Chun Qin, Lian-Deng Wei, Li-Juan Zhao, Yan-Qiang Huang, Wei Xing, Hong-Qin Pu, Peng-Ya Wei, Chao-Gan Li, Qiu-Chun Liang
Xiao-Qiang Mo, Hong-Yu Wei, Gan-Rong Huang, Yu-Li Chen, Wei Xian, Yan-Chun Qin, Lian-Deng Wei, Li-Juan Zhao, Yan-Qiang Huang, Wei Xing, Hong-Qin Pu, Peng-Ya Wei, Chao-Gan Li, Qiu-chun Liang, Breeding Base of Microbial Infection Key Laboratory in the West Guangxi, Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, Baise 533000, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
Ling-Yuan Xu, Jiang Qi, Affiliated Hospital of Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, Baise 533000, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China
Author contributions: Mo XQ, Wei HY and Huang GR performed research and contributed equally to this work; Xu LY, Chen YL, Qi J, Xian W, Qin YC, Wei LD, Zhao LJ, Pu HQ, Wei PY, Li CG and Liang Qc analyzed the data; Huang YQ and Xing W designed the research, analyzed the data and contributed equally to this work; all authors drafted the article and made critical revisions related to the intellectual content of the manuscript, and approved the final version of the article to be published.
Supported by the Guangxi key disciplines (Pathogen Biology) [2013] 16, key laboratory cultivation base of universities in Guangxi (Guangxi Education Research [2014] 6); the science and technology research projects of universities in Guangxi in 2014, No. YB2014307; the Guangxi natural science fund project, No. 2013GXNSFAA019249, No. 2014GXNSFBA118148; and the Scientific Research Project of The Department of Education of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, No. 200810LX327.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed by the Youjiang Medical University Institutional review board.
Conflict-of-interest statement: We declare that there are no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Dr. Yan-Qiang Huang, Professor, Breeding Base of Microbial Infection Key Laboratory in the West Guangxi, Youjiang Medical University for Nationalities, No. 98 Countryside Road, Baise 533000, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China.
hyq77615@163.com
Telephone: +86-776-2853272 Fax: +86-776-2853272
Received: September 25, 2016
Peer-review started: September 30, 2016
First decision: October 20, 2016
Revised: November 4, 2016
Accepted: November 23, 2016
Article in press: November 28, 2016
Published online: February 14, 2017
Processing time: 140 Days and 3.9 Hours
AIM
To explore the induction effects and mechanism of Solanum lyratum Thumb (ST) on human hepatocellular carcinoma SMMC-7721 cells through the mitochondrial pathway.
METHODS
The experiments were conducted on three groups: an experimental group (with ST ethanol extracts’ concentration being 2.5, 5 and 10 mg/L), a negative control group (with only nutrient solution, 0 mg/L ST ethanol extracts), and a positive control group (2.5 mg/L DDP). The inhibition rate of cell proliferation was checked by using the methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium method, and cell apoptosis was tested by TUNEL method. Furthermore, RT-PCR was used to examine mRNA expression of Fas, FasL, caspase-8, caspase-3, p53 and Bcl-2 genes.
RESULTS
Compared with the negative control group, the inhibition and apoptosis rates of the experimental group with different concentrations of ST extracts on human hepatocellular carcinoma SMMC-7721 cells significantly increased (P < 0.05). Besides, the mRNA expression of FasL and Bcl-2 significantly decreased (P < 0.05) while the mRNA expression of Fas, caspase-8, caspase-3 and p53 increased significantly. When compared with the positive control group, the experimental groups with 5 mg/L ST ethanol extracts showed effects similar to the positive control group.
CONCLUSION
ST ethanol extracts induced the apoptosis of hepatocellular carcinoma SMMC-7721 cells through up-regulated Fas, caspase-8, caspse-3 and p53, and down-regulated FasL and Bcl-2 in the mitochondrial pathway.
Core tip: Chinese herbal medicine has a very good effect on the tumor. Solanum lyratum Thumb (ST) belonging to Solanaceae, is generally used to treat tumors, so it is a commonly used anticancer drug. However, the effects and mechanism of ST on tumor cells are unclear. This experiment verified that ST can induce the apoptosis of hepatocellular carcinoma SMMC-7721 cells; moreover, the apoptosis mechanism was related to the expression of Fas, FasL, caspase-8, caspase-3, p53 and Bcl-2 in the mitochondrial pathway. This result provides powerful evidence of the improved apoptosis effects of ST on hepatocellular carcinoma cells.
