Abstract
The morbidity and mortality of hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common cancer, are increasing continuously worldwide. Galangin (Ga) has been demonstrated to possess anti-cancer effect, but the efficacy of Ga was limited by its low permeability and poor solubility. To develop aqueous formulation and improve the anti-cancer activity of Ga, surface decoration of functionalized selenium nanoparticles with Ga (Se@Ga) was synthesized in the present study. The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-cancer effect of Se@Ga and the mechanism on HepG2 cells. Se@Ga-induced HepG2 cell apoptosis was confirmed by depletion of mitochondrial membrane potential, translocation of phosphatidylserine and caspase-3 activation. Furthermore, Se@Ga enhanced the anti-cancer activity of HepG2 cells through ROS-mediated AKT and p38 signalling pathways. In summary, these results suggest that Se@Ga might be potential candidate chemotherapy for cancer.
Highlights
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is considered as one of the most common malignancies and ranks third in cancer-associated deaths around the world. [1,2]
The zeta potential of selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) was 224.8 mV and decreased to 236 mV after capping with Galangin, which indicated that selenium nanoparticles with Ga (Se@Ga) with positive charge was easier to cross into the cell membrane
Size distribution of Se@Ga revealed that the decorated SeNPs were stable at least for 30 days, (a) 120 mitochondrial membrane potential (% of control)
Summary
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is considered as one of the most common malignancies and ranks third in cancer-associated deaths around the world. [1,2]. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is considered as one of the most common malignancies and ranks third in cancer-associated deaths around the world. The early stage diagnosis of HCC is difficult and the prognosis is less satisfactory [3,4]. HCC is metastatic or advanced at the time of diagnosis, and the local therapies are unsuitable [5,6]. Due to the insensitivity of HCC to chemotherapy and high metastatic potential, the survival of patients with HCC is very difficult [7].
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