Abstract
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of primary liver cancer and accounts for the fourth leading cause of all cancer deaths. Scientific evidence has found that plant extracts seem to be a reliable choice due to their multitarget effects against HCC. Juniperus communis has been used for centuries in traditional medicine and its anticancer properties have been reported. As a result, the purpose of the study was to investigate the anticancer effect and mechanism of J. communis extract (JCo extract) on HCC in vitro and in vivo. In the present study, we found that JCo extract inhibited the growth of human HCC cells by inducing cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase, extensive apoptosis and suppressing metastatic protein expressions in HCC cells. Moreover, the combinational treatment of JCo and VP-16 was found to enhance the anticancer effect, revealing that JCo extract might have the potential to be utilized as an adjuvant to promote HCC treatment. Furthermore, in vivo study, JCo extract significantly suppressed HCC tumor growth and extended the lifespan with no or low systemic and pathological toxicity. JCo extract significantly up-regulated the expression of pro-apoptotic proteins and tumor suppressor p53, suppressed VEGF/VEGFR autocrine signaling, down-regulated cell cycle regulatory proteins and MMP2/MMP9 proteins. Overall, our results provide a basis for exploiting JCo extract as a potential anticancer agent against HCC.
Highlights
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common cancer, making it a major health concern worldwide
To determine the toxicity of JCo extract on normal cells, their growth inhibitory effects on kidney epithelial and vascular endothelial cells were determined by MTT assay
The results showed that VP-16 had greater inhibitory effects on normal cells than JCo extract (Table 1)
Summary
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common cancer, making it a major health concern worldwide. Prevalent treatments for HCC include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and targeted therapy [1]. Chemotherapy is usually used to promote the patients’ survival. Chemodrugs are often associated with toxicity and strong side effects that impair therapeutic efficacy, resulting in high death rates [2]. The discovery of novel antitumor agents with better therapeutic efficacy and less toxicity has become an attractive avenue for preventing and treating HCC. Natural products from plants may be a safer choice because use alone or a combination of medicinal plants and conventional therapies has a beneficial effect on survival, immune regulation, and quality of life [3]
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