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Alpinumisoflavone suppresses hepatocellular carcinoma cell growth and metastasis via NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated pyroptosis

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Abstract

Aim

This research aims to explore the effect of alpinumisoflavone (AIF) as an anti-cancer drug for the treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Methods

Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) and colony formation assay were used to evaluate the viability of the cells and their clonogenic ability. Cellular migration and their invasion capabilities were detected using the wound-healing and transwell assay, respectively. The release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was detected using the LDH kit. The expression levels of genes in the cells and tumor tissues were examined by qRT-PCR, western blotting, and immunohistochemical techniques. The cells transfected with mRFP-GFP-LC3 adenoviruses were stained to determine their autophagy status. MCC950 (NLRP3 inflammasome inhibitor) and NLRP3 shRNA were used to block NLRP3-mediated pyroptosis. Chloroquine and Atg 5 siRNA were used to inhibit the autophagy of the cells.

Results

AIF suppressed cell proliferation, migration, and invasion capacity of SMMC 7721 and Huh7 cells. The incorporation of AIF induced the formation of NLRP3 inflammasome assembly, pyroptosis, and autophagy of the cells. However, the anti-proliferative and anti-metastatic effects of AIF on the HCC cells were attenuated by NLRP3 inhibitor and knockdown. Furthermore, Atg 5 knockdown inhibited autophagy and enhanced the rate of AIF-induced pyroptosis of the cells. AIF also suppressed tumor growth and increased the levels of pyroptosis-related genes in tumor tissues, which were consistent with in vitro observations.

Conclusion

AIF inhibited HCC cell growth and metastasis by inducing NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated pyroptosis. Furthermore, AIF-induced autophagy augmented pyroptosis in HCC.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Jiangsu Road 16, Qingdao, 266003, China

    Yan Zhang, Hong Yang, Meifeng Sun, Tingting He, Yufang Liu, Xiuwei Yang, Xiaoli Shi & Xiaoxiao Liu

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  1. Yan Zhang
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  2. Hong Yang
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  3. Meifeng Sun
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  4. Tingting He
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  5. Yufang Liu
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  6. Xiuwei Yang
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  7. Xiaoli Shi
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  8. Xiaoxiao Liu
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Contributions

XL designed the research and wrote the paper. YZ, HY, MS, and TH performed the experiments. YL, XY, and XS analyzed the data and collected the information.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiaoxiao Liu.

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43440_2020_64_MOESM1_ESM.jpg

The effect of AIF on the histological changes of heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney as detected by H&E staining (JPG 440 kb)

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Zhang, Y., Yang, H., Sun, M. et al. Alpinumisoflavone suppresses hepatocellular carcinoma cell growth and metastasis via NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated pyroptosis. Pharmacol. Rep 72, 1370–1382 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43440-020-00064-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43440-020-00064-8

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