YAN-NAN LI^1,#, YUN-HONG XIU^2,#, YAN-JUN TANG³, JING-LONG CAO¹, WEN-SHUANG HOU¹, AN-QI WANG¹, TIAN-ZHU LI^4,*, CHENG-HAO JIN^1,3,5,*

BIOCELL, Vol.48, No.7, pp. 1055-1069, 2024, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2024.050515

Abstract Objectives: Sciadopitysin (SP) is a flavonoid in Ginkgo biloba that exhibits various pharmacological activities. This study aimed to investigate its antitumor effects and the underlying molecular mechanism of SP in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. Methods: Network pharmacology was used for target prediction analysis. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was used to test the cell viability. Flow cytometry was used to test the cell cycle distribution, apoptosis status, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. Transwell and wound-healing assay was used to test the migration effect of SP on HepG2 cells. Western Blot assay was used to… More > Graphic Abstract

Min Li^*†, Mao Zhang^*, Zhi-lang Zhang^*, Ning Liu^*, Xiao-yu Han^*, Qin-cheng Liu^*, Wei-jun Deng^†, Cai-xian Liao^*

Oncology Research, Vol.25, No.2, pp. 233-239, 2017, DOI:10.3727/096504016X14742891049073

Abstract Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is highly resistant to traditional chemotherapeutic approaches, which causes difficulty in the development of effective drugs for the treatment of HCC. Berberine, a major ingredient of Rhizoma coptidis, is a natural alkaloid used in traditional Chinese medicine. Berberine exhibits potent antitumor activity against HCC due to its high efficiency and low toxicity. In the present study, we found that berberine sensitized HepG cells to NF-kB-mediated apoptosis. Berberine exhibited a significant antiproliferation effect on the HepG2 cells and promoted apoptosis. Both qRT-PCR and immunofluorescence staining revealed that berberine reduced the NF-kB p65 levels in More >

TINGTING SUN, XUE SUN, XIN WANG, RUI GUO, YUANHUA YU^*, LE GAO^*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.4, pp. 879-889, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.026229

Abstract Background: Aldo-keto oxidoreductase (AKR) inhibitors could reverse the resistance of several cancer cells to cis-platin, but their role in resistance remains unclear.Methods: We verified the difference of AKR1Cs expression by Western blot, RNA sequencing and qRT-PCR. The differences of AKR1Cs expression were analyzed and inferred. Use Assay of NADH and NAD⁺ content to verify the inference. The Docking experience was used to verify the affinity between MPA, MCFLA, MLS and AKR1C3.Results: Our RNA-seq results showed de novo NAD biosynthesis-related genes and NAD(P)H-dependent oxidoreductases were significantly upregulated in cis-platin-resistant HepG2 hepatic cancer cells (HepG2-RC cells) compared with HepG2 cells.… More >

WANTONG LIU^1,#, DANYANG CHEN^1,#, JINGYAO SU^1,#, RUILIN ZHENG^1,#, RAN KONG¹, BING ZHU¹, HAO DONG^2,*, YINGHUA LI^1,*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.1, pp. 187-194, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.023030

Abstract Liver cancer is the seventh most common malignant tumor in the world and is the second highest cause of death due to cancer. Quercetin, a flavonoid with low toxicity, widely exists in various fruits and vegetables. It has the potential to be a therapeutic agent against various cancers. This study aimed to demonstrate the anti-tumor effect of quercetin on HepG2 cells. Quercetin suppressed the HepG2 cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner in cell viability assay. Induction of cell apoptosis was confirmed by apoptotic cells population (sub-G1 peak) detected by flow cytometer. A decrease in mitochondrial More >

Xinshan Cao^*, Ling Xu^†, Quanyuan Liu^*, Lijuan Yang^‡, Na Li^§, Xiaoxiao Li^*

Oncology Research, Vol.27, No.3, pp. 301-309, 2019, DOI:10.3727/096504018X15213058045841

Abstract Our study aimed to investigate the roles and possible regulatory mechanism of miR-1277 in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HCC patients were identified from patients who were diagnosed with focal liver lesions using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The expression levels of miR-1277 in the serum of HCC patients and HepG2 cells were measured. Then miR-1277 mimic, miR-1277 inhibitor, or scramble RNA was transfected into HepG2 cells. The effects of miR-1277 overexpression and suppression on HepG2 cell proliferation, migration, and invasion were then investigated. Additionally, the expression levels of epithelial– mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related markers, including… More >

HAIYANG CHEN^1,2,#, JINGYAO SU^1,#, DANYANG CHEN^1,#, YUYE DU¹, RUILIN ZHENG¹, QINGLIN DENG², QIANQIAN DU³, BING ZHU^1,*, YINGHUA LI^1,*

BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.10, pp. 2267-2273, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.020218

Abstract At present, Hepatocarcinoma is one of the main causes of tumor related death all over the world. However, there are still many clinical restrictions on the treatment of liver cancer. Recently, L-Selenocystine has been shown to be a novel treatment for tumors, especially human glioma cells. But, the mechanism of L-Selenocystine against hepatocellular carcinoma remains unclear. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to investigate the effects of L-Selenocystine on HepG2 cell proliferation and activation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) mediated signaling pathway. L-Selenocystine can significantly inhibit HepG2 cell proliferation by activating caspase-3 and More >

YI HUANG^1,2, CHUNFENG DOU², XUMING HU², HENGMI CUI^2,*

BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.4, pp. 961-967, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.018131

Abstract Metformin is a first-line drug in the fight against type 2 diabetes. In recent years, studies have shown that metformin has some preventive and therapeutic effects on liver cancer, but the effects of metformin on the gene expression of liver cancer cells are not fully known. This study focused on the differences in the gene expression profiles in liver cancer cells treated with or without metformin. A total of 153 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) (FC > 2 and q-values < 0.001) were found, including 77 upregulated genes and 76 downregulated genes. These DEGs are involved in More >

AASTHA MITTAL¹, NEELAM MAHALA¹, KOWTHAVARAPU VENKATA KRISHNA², UMA S. DUBEY^1,*, SUNIL KUMAR DUBEY^2,3,*

BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.1, pp. 127-136, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2021.015932

Abstract Sorafenib, a multikinase inhibitor used for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma, is limited by its low oral bioavailability. To overcome this drawback, we have developed novel camel milk casein-derived nanoparticles as a drug delivery system. Camel milk casein is not only biocompatible on oral administration but is actually a dietary protein of pharmaceutical relevance. Casein is used because of its amphiphilic nature, self-assembling property, ability to show sustained release, and capability of encapsulating both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs. In this study, camel milk casein nanoparticles loaded with sorafenib were developed and characterized. Characterization of casein… More >

Xiaofan Deng^1,2, Yamei Yang^2,3, Xianfeng Gan^2,3, Gang Wu^2,3,*

Oncologie, Vol.23, No.2, pp. 251-258, 2021, DOI:10.32604/Oncologie.2021.016900

Abstract microRNA-422a (miR-422a) is downregulated in many hematopoietic tumors and solid tumors including hepatocellular carcinoma. We previously demonstrated that hepatitis B virus X protein (HBx) downregulated expression of miR-422a in HCC cell line HepG2 in vitro. However, we explore the mechanisms underlying this action. Forkhead box proteins (FOX) G1/Q1/E1 are known to negatively regulate miR-422a expression, and this prompted us to determine whether HBx suppresses miR-422a expression via activation of FOXG1/Q1/E1. The relationship between FOXG1/Q1/E1 and miR-422a in HepG2 cells stably expressing HBx was assessed with qRT-PCR. The correlation between HBx and FOXG1/Q1/E1 was determined with qRT-PCR More >

Odin RAMÍREZ-FERNÁNDEZ^1,*, Rafael GODÍNEZ¹, Esmeralda ZUÑIGA-AGUILAR¹, Luis E. GÓMEZ-QUIROZ², María C. GUTIÉRREZ-RUIZ², Juan MORALES³, Roberto OLAYO³

BIOCELL, Vol.39, No.2-3, pp. 9-14, 2015, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2015.39.009

Abstract We have designed and evaluated a radial-flow bioreactor for three-dimensional liver carcinoma cell culture on a new porous coated scaffold. We designed a culture chamber where a radial flow of culture medium was continuously delivered through it. Once this system was established, flow was simulated using flow dynamics software based on numeric methods to solve Navier-Stockes flow equations. Perfusion within cell culture scaffolds was simulated using a flow velocity of 7 mL/min and found that cell culture medium was distributed unhindered in the bioreactor chamber. Afterwards, the bioreactor was built according to the simulated design More >