Radiosensitization potential of caffeic acid phenethyl ester and the long non-coding RNAs in response to 60Coγ radiation in mouse hepatoma cells

Abstract

Radiation therapy has been reported as an effective treatment for cancer, yet it has multiple side effects. Thus, it is necessary to develop some non-toxic or low-toxic natural radiosensitizers. Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) is widely studied due to various biological activities including radiosensitization effects. However, the radiosensitization effects of CAPE related to the expression of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are still unclear. In this study, we investigated the antitumor effects of CAPE in combination with 60Coγ radiation against mouse hepatoma (H22) cells, indicating that CAPE has the radiosensitization potential by detecting cell viability, cell cycle, apoptosis and the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Furthermore, the differentially expressed lncRNAs (DElncRNAs) induced by 60Coγ radiation were further identified through high throughput sequencing in H22 cells. A total of 46 DElncRNAs were identified, including 24 up-regulated and 22 down-regulated lncRNAs. Then, the representative lncRNAs (LNC-004553, LNC-000751 and LNC-000561) were selected by Gene Ontology (GO) analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis and finally verified using quantitative Real Time-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Results confirmed that CAPE is a potential natural radiosensitizer during radiotherapy for liver cancer, and the identified lncRNAs may be the new targets for future treatment of the radiosensitization response activated by CAPE.