Mechanism of pterostilbene inhibiting growth of hepatocellular carcinoma by regulating metastasis-associated protein 1 expression

Abstract

Objective To explore the action mechanism of pterostilbene inhibiting growth of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by regulating metastasis-associated protein 1 (MTA1) expression. Methods The expression of MTA1 mRNA was detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Real-time PCR) in 78 cases of human HCC tissues and the counterparts from 78 cases of paracarcinoma tissues. The relationship between the expression of MTA1 with clinicopathological features of HCC was evaluated. The SSMC-7721 cells were cultured in the presence of pterostilbene for 24 h. The cell viability was measured by methyl thiazol tetrazolium (MTT) assay, and the protein expression of MTA1 was detected by Western blotting. Results The expression of MTA1 was significantly higher in HCC tissues than in matched paracarcinoma tissues. The expression of MTA1 was significantly higher in TMN Ⅲ-Ⅳ HCC tissues than in TMN Ⅰ-Ⅱ HCC tissues (P=0.000). The expression level of MTA1 in HCC tissues was related to intrahepatic metastasis and portal vein infiltration. There was down-regulation of MTA1, histone deacetylase (HDAC)1 and HDAC2 expression in pterostilbene-treated SSMC-7721 cells compared to vehicle-treated cells. The ratio of Acp53/total p53 was higher in HCC cells after treatment. The cell viability was decreased with increasing pterostilbene dose (P=0.000). Conclusion The expression of MTA1 may relate to the proliferation, metastasis and clinical stages of HCC. The expression of MTA1 in HCC tissues may be positively correlated with the TMN stages. Key words: Metastasis-associated protein 1; Pterostilbene; Carcinoma, hepatocellular