V8, a newly synthetic flavonoid, induces apoptosis through ROS-mediated ER stress pathway in hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract Background Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant cancers worldwide, and liver cancer has increased in mortality due to liver cancer because it was detected at an advanced stages in patients with liver dysfunction, making HCC a lethal cancer. Accordingly, we aim to new targets for HCC drug discovery using HCC tumor spheroids. Methods Our comparative proteomic analysis of HCC cells grown in culture as monolayers (2D) and spheroids (3D) revealed that argininosuccinate synthase 1 (ASS1) expression was higher in 3D cells than in 2D cells due to upregulated endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress responses. We investigated the clinical value of ASS1 in Korean patients with HCC. The mechanism underlying ASS1-mediated tumor suppression was investigated in HCC spheroids. ASS1-mediated improvement of chemotherapy efficiency was observed using high content screening in an HCC xenograft mouse model. Results Studies of tumor tissue from Korean HCC patients showed that, although ASS1 expression was low in most samples, high levels of ASS1 were associated with favorable overall survival of patients. Here, we found that bidirectional interactions between ASS1 ER stress responses in HCC-derived multicellular tumor spheroids can limit HCC progression. ASS1 overexpression effectively inhibited tumor growth and enhanced the efficacy of in vitro and in vivo anti-HCC combination chemotherapy via activation of the PERK/eIF2α/ATF4/CHOP axis, but was not dependent on the status of p53 and arginine metabolism. Conclusions These results demonstrate the critical functional roles for the arginine metabolism–independent tumor suppressor activity of ASS1 in HCC and suggest that upregulating ASS1 in these tumors is a potential strategy in HCC cells with low ASS1 expression.

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Intermedin facilitates hepatocellular carcinoma cell survival and invasion via ERK1/2-EGR1/DDIT3 signaling cascade

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-80066-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Fei Xiao ◽

Hongyu Li ◽

Zhongxue Feng ◽

Luping Huang ◽

Lingmiao Kong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Er Stress ◽

Cell Survival ◽

Vascular Remodeling ◽

Therapeutic Potential ◽

Blood Perfusion ◽

Signaling Cascade ◽

Apoptotic Pathway ◽

High Level ◽

Hcc Cells

AbstractAs one of the most malignant cancer types, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is highly invasive and capable of metastasizing to distant organs. Intermedin (IMD), an endogenous peptide belonging to the calcitonin family, has been suggested playing important roles in cancer cell survival and invasion, including in HCC. However, how IMD affects the behavior of HCC cells and the underlying mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. Here, we show that IMD maintains an important homeostatic state by activating the ERK1/2-EGR1 (early growth response 1) signaling cascade, through which HCC cells acquire a highly invasive ability via significantly enhanced filopodia formation. The inhibition of IMD blocks the phosphorylation of ERK1/2, resulting in EGR1 downregulation and endoplasmic reticulum stress (ER) stress, which is evidenced by the upregulation of ER stress marker DDIT3 (DNA damage-inducible transcript 3). The high level of DDIT3 induces HCC cells into an ER-stress related apoptotic pathway. Along with our previous finding that IMD plays critical roles in the vascular remodeling process that improves tumor blood perfusion, IMD may facilitate the acquisition of increased invasive abilities and a survival benefit by HCC cells, and it is easier for HCC cells to obtain blood supply via the vascular remodeling activities of IMD. According to these results, blockade of IMD activity may have therapeutic potential in the treatment of HCC.

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3,3′-Diindolylmethane Suppresses the Growth of Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Regulating Its Invasion, Migration and ER Stress-Mediated Mitochondrial Apoptosis

Cells ◽

10.3390/cells10051178 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 1178

Author(s):

Suvesh Munakarmi ◽

Juna Shrestha ◽

Hyun-Beak Shin ◽

Geum-Hwa Lee ◽

Yeon-Jun Jeong

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Er Stress ◽

Hepatoma Cell ◽

Biologically Active ◽

Migration And Invasion ◽

Therapeutic Effects ◽

Dependent Manner ◽

Mesenchymal Transition ◽

Huh7 Cells ◽

Anti Cancer

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide with limited treatment options. Biomarker-based active phenolic flavonoids isolated from medicinal plants might shed some light on potential therapeutics for treating HCC. 3,3′-diindolylmethane (DIM) is a unique biologically active dimer of indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a phytochemical compound derived from Brassica species of cruciferous vegetables—such as broccoli, kale, cabbage, and cauliflower. It has anti-cancer effects on various cancers such as breast cancer, prostate cancer, endometrial cancer, and colon cancer. However, the molecular mechanism of DIM involved in reducing cancer risk and/or enhancing therapy remains unknown. The aim of the present study was to evaluate anti-cancer and therapeutic effects of DIM in human hepatoma cell lines Hep3B and HuhCell proliferation was measured with MTT and trypan blue colony formation assays. Migration, invasion, and apoptosis were measured with Transwell assays and flow cytometry analyses. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) intensity and the loss in mitochondrial membrane potential of Hep3B and Huh7 cells were determined using dihydroethidium (DHE) staining and tetramethylrhodamine ethyl ester dye. Results showed that DIM significantly suppressed HCC cell growth, proliferation, migration, and invasion in a concentration-dependent manner. Furthermore, DIM treatment activated caspase-dependent apoptotic pathway and suppressed epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) via ER stress and unfolded protein response (UPR). Taken together, our results suggest that DIM is a potential anticancer drug for HCC therapy by targeting ER-stress/UPR.

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