Abstract
BackgroundApigenin, as a natural flavonoid, has low intrinsic toxicity and has potential pharmacological effects against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the molecular mechanisms involving microRNAs (miRNAs) and their target genes regulated by apigenin in the treatment of HCC have not been addressed.ObjectiveIn this study, the molecular mechanisms of apigenin involved in the prevention and treatment of HCC were explored in vivo and in vitro using miRNA transcriptomic sequencing to determine the basis for the clinical applications of apigenin in the treatment of HCC.MethodsThe effects of apigenin on the proliferation, cell cycle progression, apoptosis, and invasion of human hepatoma cell line Huh7 and Hep3B were studied in vitro, and the effects on the tumorigenicity of Huh7 cells were assessed in vivo. Then, a differential expression analysis of miRNAs regulated by apigenin in Huh7 cells was performed using next-generation RNA sequencing and further validated by qRT-PCR. The potential genes targeted by the differentially expressed miRNAs were identified using a curated miRTarBase miRNA database and their molecular functions were predicted using Gene Ontology and KEGG signaling pathway analysis.ResultsCompared with the control treatment group, apigenin significantly inhibited Huh7 cell proliferation, cell cycle, colony formation, and cell invasion in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, apigenin reduced tumor growth, promoted tumor cell necrosis, reduced the expression of Ki67, and increased the expression of Bax and Bcl-2 in the xenograft tumors of Huh7 cells. Bioinformatics analysis of the miRNA transcriptome showed that hsa-miR-24, hsa-miR-6769b-3p, hsa-miR-6836-3p, hsa-miR-199a-3p, hsa-miR-663a, hsa-miR-4739, hsa-miR-6892-3p, hsa-miR-7107-5p, hsa-miR-1273g-3p, hsa-miR-1343, and hsa-miR-6089 were the most significantly up-regulated miRNAs, and their key gene targets were MAPK1, PIK3CD, HRAS, CCND1, CDKN1A, E2F2, etc. The core regulatory pathways of the up-regulated miRNAs were associated with the hepatocellular carcinoma pathway. The down-regulated miRNAs were hsa-miR-181a-5p and hsa-miR-148a-3p, and the key target genes were MAPK1, HRAS, STAT3, FOS, BCL2, SMAD2, PPP3CA, IFNG, MET, and VAV2, with the core regulatory pathways identified as proteoglycans in cancer pathway.ConclusionApigenin can inhibit the growth of HCC cells, which may be mediated by up-regulation or down-regulation of miRNA molecules and their related target genes.
Highlights
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the main types of primary liver cancer
We found that apigenin inhibited HCC cell proliferation in a dosedependent manner (P < 0.05) (Figures 1A, B)
To investigate whether apigenin affected the ability of Huh7 and Hep3B cells to survive and form colonies, the same number of viable cells treated with apigenin or DMSO were seeded at a low cell density on the petri dish
Summary
According to the latest statistics, more than 300,000 people die of HCC every year in China. It is the fifth largest cancer in the world and the second leading cause of cancer-related death [1, 2]. Due to the occult onset and high malignant degree of liver cancer, most patients with liver cancer are diagnosed at advanced stages, with treatment options mainly relying on chemotherapy and targeted therapy. As a natural flavonoid, has low intrinsic toxicity and has potential pharmacological effects against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The molecular mechanisms involving microRNAs (miRNAs) and their target genes regulated by apigenin in the treatment of HCC have not been addressed
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