Effect of the antitumoral alkylating agent 3-bromopyruvate on mitochondrial respiration: role of mitochondrially bound hexokinase

The alkylating agent 3-Bromopyruvate (3-BrPA) has been used as an anti-tumoral drug due to its anti-proliferative property in hepatomas cells. This propriety is believed to disturb glycolysis and respiration, which leads to a decreased rate of ATP synthesis. In this study, we evaluated the effects of the alkylating agent 3-BrPA on the respiratory states and the metabolic steps of the mitochondria of mice liver, brain and in human hepatocarcinoma cell line HepG2. The mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ_m), O₂ consumption and dehydrogenase activities were rapidly dissipated/or inhibited by 3-BrPA in respiration medium containing ADP and succinate as respiratory substrate. 3-BrPA inhibition was reverted by reduced glutathione (GSH). Respiration induced by yeast soluble hexokinase (HK) was rapidly inhibited by 3-BrPA. Similar results were observed using mice brain mitochondria that present HK naturally bound to the outer mitochondrial membrane. When the adenine nucleotide transporter (ANT) was blocked by the carboxyatractiloside, the 3-BrPA effect was significantly delayed. In permeabilized human hepatoma HepG2 cells that present HK type II bound to mitochondria (mt-HK II), the inhibiting effect occurred faster when the endogenous HK activity was activated by 2-deoxyglucose (2-DOG). Inhibition of mt-HK II by glucose-6-phosphate retards the mitochondria to react with 3-BrPA. The HK activities recovered in HepG2 cells treated or not with 3-BrPA were practically the same. These results suggest that mitochondrially bound HK supporting the ADP/ATP exchange activity levels facilitates the 3-BrPA inhibition reaction in tumors mitochondria by a proton motive force-dependent dynamic equilibrium between sensitive and less sensitive SDH in the electron transport system.     

Panaxydol inhibits the proliferation and induces the differentiation of human hepatocarcinoma cell line HepG2

Panaxydol, a polyacetylene compound isolated from Panax ginseng, exerts anti-proliferative effects against malignant cells. No previous study, however, has been reported on its effects on hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Here, we investigated the effects of panaxydol on the proliferation and differentiation of human hepatocarcinoma cell line HepG2. We studied by electronic microscopy of morphological and ultrastructural changes induced by panaxydol. We also examined the cytotoxicities of panaxydol against HepG2 cells using the 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay and the effect of panaxydol on cell cycle distributions by flow cytometry. We investigated the production of liver proteins in panaxydol-treated cells including alpha-fetoprotein and albumin and measured the specific activity of alkaline phosphatase and gamma-glutamyl transferase. We further investigated the effects of panaxydol on the expression of Id-1, Id-2, p21 and pRb by RT-PCR or immunoblotting analysis. We found that panaxydol inhibited the proliferation of HepG2 cells and caused morphological and ultrastructural changes in HepG2 cells resembling more mature forms of hepatocytes. Moreover, panaxydol induced a cell cycle arrest at the G₁ to S transition in HepG2 cells. It also significantly decreased the secretion of alpha-fetoprotein and the activity of gamma-glutamyl transferase. By contrast, panaxydol remarkably increased the secretion of albumin and the alkaline phosphatase activity. Furthermore, panaxydol increased the mRNA content of p21 while reducing that of Id-1 and Id-2. Panaxydol also increased the protein levels of p21, pRb and the hypophosphorylated pRb in a dose-dependent manner. These findings suggest that panaxydol is of value for further exploration as a potential anti-cancer agent.     

四逆散对人肝癌HepG2细胞增殖、凋亡的影响及其机制*

目的: 探讨含四逆散药液血清对人肝癌HepG2细胞增殖、凋亡的影响及机制。方法: 将人肝癌HepG2细胞分为5组,每组3个复孔。实验组细胞用五氟尿嘧啶(5-FU)或不同浓度的含四逆散药液血清处理48 h后,用倒置显微镜观察含四逆散药液血清处理后人肝癌HepG2细胞形态的变化;MTT法检测含四逆散药液血清对HepG2细胞生长的抑制作用;荧光染色和流式细胞术分别分析含四逆散药液血清对HepG2细胞凋亡的影响。Rho123染色法检测线粒体膜电位变化,Western blot检测细胞凋亡相关蛋白的表达。结果: 与对照组比较,含四逆散药液血清处理人肝癌HepG2细胞后,细胞数量显著减少(P＜0.01),形态发生改变,呈现典型的凋亡细胞形态;G1期细胞数明显增加,而G2 期细胞数量显著减少(P＜0.05);Bax、Caspase-3、-9和Cyt-c的表达显著升高,而Bcl-2的表达显著降低(P＜0.05);随着含四逆散药液血清浓度增大,HepG2细胞线粒体膜电位显著下降(P＜0.05)。结论: 四逆散可以抑制HepG2细胞增殖,并通过线粒体途径诱导细胞凋亡。     

Inhibition of Orai1‐mediated Ca2+ entry enhances chemosensitivity of HepG2 hepatocarcinoma cells to 5‐fluorouracil

Increasing evidence supports that activation of store‐operated Ca²⁺ entry (SOCE) is implicated in the chemoresistance of cancer cells subjected to chemotherapy. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying chemoresistance are not well understood. In this study, we aim to investigate whether 5‐FU induces hepatocarcinoma cell death through regulating Ca²⁺‐dependent autophagy. [Ca²⁺]_i was measured using fura2/AM dye. Protein expression was determined by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. We found that 5‐fluorouracil (5‐FU) induced autophagic cell death in HepG2 hepatocarcinoma cells by inhibiting PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Orai1 expression was obviously elevated in hepatocarcinoma tissues. 5‐FU treatment decreased SOCE and Orai1 expressions, but had no effects on Stim1 and TRPC1 expressions. Knockdown of Orai1 or pharmacological inhibition of SOCE enhanced 5‐FU‐induced inhibition of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway and potentiated 5‐FU‐activated autophagic cell death. On the contrary, ectopic overexpression of Orai1 antagonizes 5‐FU‐induced autophagy and cell death. Our findings provide convincing evidence to show that Orai1 expression is increased in hepatocarcinoma tissues. 5‐FU can induce autophagic cell death in HepG2 hepatocarcinoma cells through inhibition of SOCE via decreasing Orai1 expression. These findings suggest that Orai1 expression is a predictor of 5‐FU sensitivity for hepatocarcinoma treatment and blockade of Orai1‐mediated Ca²⁺ entry may be a promising strategy to sensitize hepatocarcinoma cells to 5‐FU treatment.     

Aclarubicin-induced ROS generation and collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential in human cancer cell lines

The cytotoxicity of aclarubicin (ACL) in A549 (human non-small lung), HepG2 (human hepatoma) and MCF-7 (human breast adenocarcinoma) cancer cell lines was evaluated and compared with that of doxorubicin (DOX). Changes in mitochondrial transmembrane potential (ΔΨ_m), and production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) of drug-treated cells were monitored. Moreover, morphological changes associated with apoptosis were examined using double staining with Hoechst 33258-propidium iodide (PI). The results showed that ACL was much more cytotoxic than DOX in all investigated cell lines. Furthermore, ACL induced a concentration- and time-dependent increase in ROS production and decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential. The drugs, especially ACL, also induced ROS mediated apoptosis and necrosis pathways in all cell lines depending on the length of the post-treatment time. All these processes were partially inhibited by the antioxidants: N-acetylcysteine (NAC) and α-tocopherol. Of both drugs, DOX caused considerably weaker depolarization of the mitochondrial membrane. Its 10-fold higher concentration, as compared to ACL, was required to induce a similar effect, in accordance with the highly distinct cytotoxicity of these drugs towards investigated cells. In conclusion, ROS production preceded a decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential, but only changes in ΔΨ_m were correlated with drug cytotoxicity in particular cell line. These results suggest that the impairment of ΔΨ_m and an increase in ROS level might be important mechanisms of ACL cytotoxicity in cancer cells in solid tumors.     

PLGA-Loaded Gold-Nanoparticles Precipitated with Quercetin Downregulate HDAC-Akt Activities Controlling Proliferation and Activate p53-ROS Crosstalk to Induce Apoptosis in Hepatocarcinoma Cells

Controlled release of medications remains the most convenient way to deliver drugs. In this study, we precipitated gold nanoparticles with quercetin. We loaded gold-quercetin into poly(DL-lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles (NQ) and tested the biological activity of NQ on HepG2 hepatocarcinoma cells to acquire the sustained release property. We determined by circular dichroism spectroscopy that NQ effectively caused conformational changes in DNA and modulated different proteins related to epigenetic modifications and c ell cycle control. The mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), reactive oxygen species (ROS), cell cycle, apoptosis, DNA damage, and caspase 3 activity were analyzed by flow cytometry, and the expression profiles of different anti- and pro-apoptotic as well as epigenetic signals were studied by immunoblotting. A cytotoxicity assay indicated that NQ preferentially killed cancer cells, compared to normal cells. NQ interacted with HepG2 cell DNA and reduced histone deacetylases to control cell proliferation and arrest the cell cycle at the sub-G stage. Activities of cell cycle-related proteins, such as p21^WAF, cdk1, and pAkt, were modulated. NQ induced apoptosis in HepG2 cells by activating p53-ROS crosstalk and induces epigenetic modifications leading to inhibited proliferation and cell cycle arrest.     

Cytotoxic Activity and Apoptosis-Inducing Potential of Di-spiropyrrolidino and Di-spiropyrrolizidino Oxindole Andrographolide Derivatives

Anticancer role of andrographolide is well documented. To find novel potent derivatives with improved cytotoxicity than andrographolide on cancer cells, two series of di-spiropyrrolidino- and di-spiropyrrolizidino oxindole andrographolide derivatives prepared by cyclo-addition of azomethine ylide along with sarcosine or proline (viz. sarcosine and proline series respectively) and substitution of different functional groups (-CH3, -OCH3 and halogens) were examined for their cytotoxic effect on a panel of six human cancer cell lines (colorectal carcinoma HCT116 cells, pancreatic carcinoma MiaPaCa-2 cells, hepatocarcinoma HepG2 cells, cervical carcinoma HeLa cells, lung carcinoma A549 and melanoma A375 cells). Except halogen substituted derivatives of proline series (viz. CY2, CY14 and CY15 for Br, Cl and I substitution respectively), none of the other derivatives showed improved cytotoxicity than andrographolide in the cancer cell lines examined. Order of cytotoxicity of the potent compounds is CY2>CY14>CY15>andrographolide. Higher toxicity was observed in HCT116, MiaPaCa-2 and HepG2 cells. CY2, induced death of HCT116 (GI₅₀ 10.5), MiaPaCa-2 (GI₅₀ 11.2) and HepG2 (GI₅₀ 16.6) cells were associated with cell rounding, nuclear fragmentation and increased percentage of apoptotic cells, cell cycle arrest at G1 phase, ROS generation, and involvement of mitochondrial pathway. Upregulation of Bax, Bad, p53, caspases-3,-9 and cleaved PARP; downregulation of Bcl-2, cytosolic NF-κB p65, PI3K and p-Akt; translocation of P53/P21, NF-κB p65 were seen in CY2 treated HCT116 cells. Thus, three halogenated di-spiropyrrolizidino oxindole derivatives of andrographolide are found to be more cytotoxic than andrographolide in some cancer cells. The most potent derivative, CY2 induced death of the cancer cells involves ROS dependent mitochondrial pathway like andrographolide.     

Okadaic acid induces phosphorylation and translocation of myosin phosphatase target subunit 1 influencing myosin phosphorylation, stress fiber assembly and cell migration in HepG2 cells

It was determined that the myosin phosphatase (MP) activity and content of myosin phosphatase target subunit 1 (MYPT1) were correlated in subcellular fractions of human hepatocarcinoma (HepG2) cells. In control cells MYPT1 was localized in the cytoplasm and in the nucleus, as determined by confocal microscopy. Treatment of HepG2 cells with 50 nM okadaic acid (OA), a cell-permeable phosphatase inhibitor, induced several changes: 1) a marked redistribution of MYPT1 to the plasma membrane associated with an increased level of phosphorylation of MYPT1 at Thr695. Both effects showed only a slight influence with the Rho-kinase inhibitor, Y-27632; 2) an increase in phosphorylation of MYPT1 at Thr850 associated with its accumulation in the perinuclear region and nucleus. These effects were markedly reduced by Y-27632; 3) an increased phosphorylation of the 20 kDa myosin II light chain at Ser19 associated with an increased location of myosin II at the cell center. These effects were partially counteracted by Y-27632; 4) an increase in stress fiber formation and a decrease in cell migration, both OA-induced effects were blocked by Y-27632. In HepG2 lysates, OA (5-100 nM) did not affect MP activity but inhibited PP2A activity. These results indicate that OA induces differential phosphorylation and translocation of MYPT1, dependent on PP2A and, to varying extents, on ROK. These changes are associated with an increased level of myosin II phosphorylation and attenuation of hepatic cell migration.     

Oxygen consumption and expression of the adenine nucleotide translocator in cells lacking mitochondrial DNA

It has been shown previously that human rho degrees cells, deprived of mitochondrial DNA and consequently of functional oxidative phosphorylation, maintain a mitochondrial membrane potential, which is necessary for their growth. The goal of our study was to determine the precise origin of this membrane potential in three rho degrees cell lines originating from the human HepG2, 143B, and HeLa S3 cell lines. Residual cyanide-sensitive oxygen consumption suggests the persistence of residual mitochondrial respiratory chain activity, about 8% of that of the corresponding parental cells. The fluorescence emitted by the three rho degrees cell lines in the presence of a mitochondrial specific fluorochrome was partially reduced by a protonophore, suggesting the existence of a proton gradient. The mitochondrial membrane potential is maintained both by a residual proton gradient (up to 45 to 50% of the potential) and by other ion movements such as the glycolytic ATP(4-) to mitochondrial ADP(3-) exchange. The ANT2 gene, encoding isoform 2 of the adenine nucleotide translocator, is overexpressed in rho degrees HepG2 and 143B cells strongly dependent on glycolytic ATP synthesis, as compared to the corresponding parental cells, which present a more oxidative metabolism. In rho degrees HeLa S3 cells, originating from the HeLa S3 cell line, which already displays a glycolytic energy status, ANT2 gene expression was not higher as in parental cells. Mitochondrial oxygen consumption and ANT2 gene overexpression vary in opposite ways and this suggests that these two parameters have complementary roles in the maintenance of the mitochondrial membrane potential in rho degrees cells.     

Probing the cell death signaling pathway of HepG2 cell line induced by copper-1,10-phenanthroline complex

Copper-1,10-phenanthroline (phen) complex [Cu(phen)₂] has been typically known as DNA-cleaving agent. And now it becomes more important for developing multifunctional drugs with its improved cytotoxic properties. In our study, we probed the cytophysiological mechanism of Cu(phen)₂. HepG2 cells were more sensitive to Cu(phen)₂ with an IC50 of 4.03 μM than other three kinds of cell lines. After treated by Cu(phen)₂, HepG2 cells had some typical morphological changes which happened to its nucleus. DNA ladder’s occurence and Annexin V-positive increased cells indicated that Cu(phen)₂ induced HepG2 cells into apoptosis. Further studies showed that Cu(phen)₂ treatment resulted in significant G₂/M phase arrest and collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential. Several cell cycle-related factors were down-regulated, including Cyclin A, Cyclin B1 and Cdc2. But p21 and p53 were up-regulated. DNA damage, microtubule disorganization and mitotic arrest through spindle assembly checkpoint activation were observed in Cu(phen)₂-treated cells. The activation of caspase-3, 8 & 9 were checked out. The increased-expression ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 was detected. The expression levels of Bcl-x_L and Bid were found to decrease. These meant that a mitochondrial-related apoptosis pathway was activated in treated HepG2 cells. Furthermore, some ER stress-associated signaling factors were found to be up-regulated, such as Grp78, XBP-1and CHOP. Ca²⁺ was also found to be released from the ER lumen. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that Cu(phen)₂ induces apoptosis in HepG2 cells via mitotic arrest and mitochondrial- and ER-stress-related signaling pathways.     

Abieslactone Induces Cell Cycle Arrest and Apoptosis in Human Hepatocellular Carcinomas through the Mitochondrial Pathway and the Generation of Reactive Oxygen Species

Abieslactone is a triterpenoid lactone isolated from Abies plants. Previous studies have demonstrated that its derivative abiesenonic acid methyl ester possesses anti-tumor-promoting activity in vitro and in vivo. In the present study, cell viability assay demonstrated that abieslactone had selective cytotoxicity against human hepatoma cell lines. Immunostaining experiments revealed that abieslactone induced HepG2 and SMMC7721 cell apoptosis. Flow cytometry and western blot analysis showed that the apoptosis was associated with cell cycle arrest during the G₁ phase, up-regulation of p53 and p21, and down-regulation of CDK2 and cyclin D1. Furthermore, our results revealed that induction of apoptosis through a mitochondrial pathway led to upregulation of Bax, down-regulation of Bcl-2, mitochondrial release of cytochrome c, reduction of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and activation of caspase cascades (Casp-9 and -3). Activation of caspase cascades also resulted in the cleavage of PARP fragment. Involvement of the caspase apoptosis pathway was confirmed using caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK pretreatment. Recent studies have shown that ROS is upstream of Akt signal in mitochondria-mediated hepatoma cell apoptosis. Our results showed that the accumulation of ROS was detected in HepG2 cells when treated with abieslactone, and ROS scavenger partly blocked the effects of abieslactone-induced HepG2 cell death. In addition, inactivation of total and phosphorylated Akt activities was found to be involved in abieslactone-induced HepG2 cell apoptosis. Therefore, our findings suggested that abieslactone induced G₁ cell cycle arrest and caspase-dependent apoptosis via the mitochondrial pathway and the ROS/Akt pathway in HepG2 cells.     

Mitochondrial targeting drug lonidamine triggered apoptosis in doxorubicin-resistant HepG2 cells

Mitochondria play a crucial role in the induction and execution of apoptosis. Accordingly, recent suggestions have been made to use agents that directly act on mitochondria to trigger apoptosis so that drug-sensitive and-resistant tumour cells can be eliminated. To test this hypothesis, human hepatocarcinoma HepG2 and its derivative R-HepG2 with doxorubicin (Dox) resistance as a result of expression of P-glycoprotein were used to investigate the effect of lonidamine (LND), a new mitochondrial targeting drug, on the induction of apoptosis. Results from our study indicate that R-HepG2 cells were more sensitive to LND than parental cells in terms of cytotoxicity determined by alamar blue assay. Cell death induced by LND was associated with the hallmarks of apoptosis such as mitochondrial membrane depolarization, release of cytochrome c, phosphatidyl-serine externalization and DNA fragmentation. Moreover, combined treatment of cells with Dox and LND elicited more cell death. Taken together, our results suggest a potential use of LND as an anti-cancer drug to bypass drug resistance and to trigger tumour destruction through apoptosis in HepG2 and R-HepG2 cells.     

Resveratrol-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis are associated with Ca2+ and mCICR-mediated MPT activation in HepG2 cells

Resveratrol, a natural polyphenolic antioxidant, has been reported to possess the cancer chemopreventive potential in wide range by means of triggering tumor cells apoptosis through various pathways. It induced apoptosis through the activation of the mitochondrial pathway in some kinds of cells. In the present reports, we showed that resveratrol-induced HepG2 cell apoptosis and mitochondrial dysfunction was dependent on the induction of the mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT), because resveratrol caused the collapse of the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ_m) with the concomitant release of cytochrome c (Cyt.c). In addition, resveratrol induced a rapid and sustained elevation of intracellular [Ca²⁺], which compromised the mitochondrial ΔΨ_m and triggered the process of HepG2 cell apoptosis. In permeabilized HepG2 cells, we further demonstrated that the effect of the resveratrol was indeed synergistic with that of Ca²⁺ and Ca²⁺ is necessary for resveratrol-induced MPT opening. Calcium-induced calcium release from mitochondria (mCICR) played a key role in mitochondrial dysfunction and cell apoptosis: (1) mCICR inhibitor, ruthenium red (RR), prevent MPT opening and Cyt.c release; and (2) RR attenuated resveratrol-induced HepG2 cell apoptotic death. Furthermore, resveratrol promotes MPT opening by lowering Ca²⁺-threshold. These data suggest modifying mCICR and Ca²⁺ threshold to modulate MPT opening may be a potential target to control cell apoptosis induced by resveratrol. Xuemei Tian—Foundation item: Chinese National Natural Science Foundation (No.30300455).     

N-acetylglycoside of oleanolic acid (aridanin) displays promising cytotoxicity towards human and animal cancer cells,inducing apoptotic,ferroptotic and necroptotic cell death

BackgroundThe discovery of novel phytochemicals represents a reasonable approach to fight malignancies, especially those which are resistant to standard chemotherapy.PurposeWe evaluated the cytotoxic potential of a naturally occurring N-acetylglycoside of oleanolic acid, aridanin, on 18 cancer cell lines, including sensitive and drug-resistant phenotypes mediated by P-glycoprotein, BCRP, p53 knockout, deletion-mutated EGFR, or BRAF mutations. Furthermore, metastasizing B16/F10 cells, HepG2 hepatocarcinoma and normal AML12 hepatocytes were investigated. The mechanisms of aridanin-induced cell death was further investigated.MethodsThe resazurin reduction assay (RRA) was applied to evaluate the cytotoxicity, autophagy, ferroptotic and necroptotic cell death. CCRF-CEM leukemia cells were used for all mechanistic studies. A caspase-Glo assay was applied to evaluate the caspase activities. Flow cytometry was applied for the analyses of cell cycle (PI staining), apoptosis (annexin V/PI staining), mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP; JC-1) and reactive oxygen species (ROS; H₂DCFH-DA).ResultsAridanin and doxorubicin (positive control) inhibited the proliferation of all cancer cell lines tested. The IC₅₀ values for aridanin varied from 3.18 µM (CCRF-CEM cells) to 9.56 µM (HepG2 cells). Aridanin had considerably lower IC₅₀ values than that of doxorubicin against multidrug-resistant CEM/ADR5000 cells and melanoma cell lines (MaMel-80a, Mel-2a, MV3, and SKMel-505). Aridanin induced apoptosis in CCRF-CEM cells through increase of ROS levels and MMP breakdown, and to a lesser extent via caspases activation. Aridanin also induced ferroptotic and necroptotic cell death.ConclusionThe present study opens good perpectives for the use of this phytochemical as an anticancer drug to combat multi-facorial resistance to established chemotherapeutics.     

Evidence for necrosis,but not apoptosis,in human hepatoma cells with knockdown of mitochondrial aquaporin-8

We previously found that mitochondrial aquaporin-8 (mtAQP8) channels facilitate mitochondrial H₂O₂ release in human hepatoma HepG2 cells and that their knockdown causes oxidant-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and loss of viability. Here, we studied whether apoptosis or necrosis is involved as the mode of cell death. We confirmed that siRNA-induced mtAQP8 knockdown significantly decreased HepG2 viability by MTT assay, LDH leakage, and trypan blue exclusion test. Analysis of mitochondrial proapoptotic Bax-to-antiapoptotic Bcl_XL ratio, mitochondrial cytochrome c release and caspase-3 activation showed no alterations in mtAQP8-knockdown cells. This indicates a primary mechanism of cell death other than the intrinsic mitochondrial apoptotic pathway. Thus, nuclear staining with DAPI did not reveal any increase of apoptotic features, i.e. chromatin condensation or nuclear fragmentation. Flow cytometry studies after double cell staining with annexin V and propidium iodide confirmed lack of apoptosis and suggested necrosis as the primary mechanism of death in mtAQP8-knockdown HepG2 cells. Necrosis was further supported by the increased nuclear delocalization and extracellular release of the High Mobility Group Box 1 protein. The knockdown of mtAQP8 in another human hepatoma-derived cell line, i.e. HuH-7 cells, also induced necrotic but not apoptotic death. Our data suggest that mtAQP8 knockdown induces necrotic cell death in human neoplastic hepatic cells, a finding that might be relevant to therapeutic strategies against hepatoma cells.     

NPAS2基因敲除的HepG2细胞系构建及其对肝癌细胞凋亡的影响

目的:利用CRISPR/Cas9基因编辑技术构建生物节律基因NPAS2敲除的HepG2肝癌细胞系,并初步探讨NPAS2基因敲除对肝癌细胞凋亡的影响。方法:利用sgRNA在线设计工具,针对NPAS2设计两条sgRNA;利用PX459质粒构建分别含有两条sgRNA的敲除载体PX459-sgRNA1;PX459-sgRNA2;利用T7核酸内切酶I检测两条sgRNA活性;将活性较高的打靶载体瞬时转染HepG2细胞,经过药物筛选,克隆化培养及基因测序后得到NPAS2敲除的HepG2肝癌细胞系;利用Western blot检测NPAS2蛋白的表达和凋亡相关蛋白Caspase3的活化;利用流式细胞仪检测敲除细胞系的凋亡水平。结果:成功构建了针对NPAS2的打靶载体;并筛选得到了活性较高的打靶载体;经过药物筛选和克隆化培养得到的NPAS2敲除肝癌细胞系未检测到NPAS2蛋白的表达;进一步发现NPAS2敲除的肝癌细胞Caspase3明显活化,凋亡水平显著升高。结论:利用CRISPR/Cas9基因编辑技术成功构建了NPAS2基因敲除的HepG2肝癌细胞系,并发现NPAS2敲除可以促进肝癌细胞凋亡,为进一步研究生物节律基因NPAS2及其它相关基因在肝癌发生发展中的作用机制提供了有力的工具。     

2′-Epi-2′-O-acetylthevetin B induces apoptosis partly via Ca-mediated mitochondrial pathway in human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells

2′-Epi-2′-O-acetylthevetin B (GHSC-74), a cardiac glycoside, can be isolated from the seeds of Cerbera manghas L. We demonstrated that GHSC-74 reduced the viability of HepG2 cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner, and efficiently induced apoptosis without significantly decreasing the viability of Chang human liver cells and Swiss albino 3T3 fibroblasts, as indicated by annexin-V/PI binding assay and Hoechst 33342 staining. In addition, stimulation of HepG2 cells with GHSC-74 induced a series of intracellular events: (1) loss of mitochondrial membrane potential; (2) sustained elevation of cytosolic [Ca²⁺]; and (3) downregulation of Bcl-2. BAPTA-AM, a cytosolic Ca²⁺ chelator, partly suppressed cell death and prevented mitochondrial membrane potential from losing in GHSC-74-treated HepG2 cells. In contrast, EGTA, an extracellular Ca²⁺ chelator, exhibited a weaker effect as compared to that of BAPTA-AM. Taken together, the Ca²⁺-mediated mitochondrial pathway was found to be involved in GHSC-74-induced HepG2 cell apoptosis.