Cytotoxic activity of anticancer drugs on hepatocellular carcinoma cells in hypoxic-hyponutritional culture

BCL11B expression in hepatocellular carcinoma relates to chemosensitivity and clinical prognosis

INTRODUCTION

B-cell lymphoma/leukemia 11B (BCL11B) is a subunit of SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complexes and functions in cell cycle regulation and apoptosis upon DNA replication stress and damages via transcription. Many malignancies were reported to exhibit changes in BCL11B gene expression; however, no study has focused on the relationship between BCL11B and hepatocellular carcinoma, which potentially exhibits DNA replication stress and damages upon its oncogenesis. Thus, in this study, we examined the molecular characterization of BCL11B expression in hepatocellular carcinoma.

METHODS AND RESULTS

The cumulative progression-free survival and overall survival were significantly longer in the clinical cases of BCL11B-negative hepatocellular carcinoma than BCL11B-positve cases. Microarray and real-time PCR analyses in hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines indicated a correlation between BCL11B and GATA6, a gene reported to be correlated with oncogenic activities and resistance to anthracycline, which is often used for hepatocellular carcinoma chemotherapy. Consequently, BCL11B-overexpressing cell lines exhibited resistance to anthracycline in cell growth assays and the resistance has been evidenced by the increased expression of BCL-xL in cell lines. The results were supported by the analyses of human HCC samples showing the correlation between BCL11B and GATA6 expressions.

DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSION

Our results indicated that overexpression of BCL11B amplifies GATA6 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma in vitro and in vivo that leads to anti-apoptotic signal activation, and induces resistance to chemotherapy, which influenced the postoperative prognosis.

Evaluation of short-term effects of drug-loaded microspheres and traditional transcatheter arterial chemoembolization in the treatment of advanced liver cancer

BACKGROUND

Liver cancer is a malignant tumor with high morbidity and mortality. Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) is the main method for surgically unresectable liver cancer. In recent years, drug-loaded microspheres have been gradually applied in TACE technology. There are some controversies about the therapeutic effects of drug-loaded microspheres TACE (D-TACE) and traditional TACE.

AIM

To explore the short-term efficacy of D-TACE and traditional TACE in the treatment of advanced liver cancer.

METHODS

The clinical data of 73 patients with advanced liver cancer admitted to the First and Sixth Medical Centers of Chinese PLA General Hospital from January 2017 to October 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 15 patients were treated with D-TACE, and 58 patients were treated with traditional TACE. Clinical baseline characteristics, perioperative laboratory indices, postoperative adverse reactions and postoperative complications were compared between the two groups.

RESULTS

There was no statistical difference between the two groups for the postoperative response: The highest postoperative body temperature of the drug-loaded microsphere group was 38.0 ± 0.9℃ and the postoperative highest body temperature of the traditional TACE group was 38.3 ± 0.7℃ (t = -1.414, P = 0.162). For the 24 h postoperative nausea and vomiting after surgery in terms of scoring and postoperative pain scores, the traditional TACE group was higher than the drug-loaded microsphere group (χ² = 14.33, P = 0.014; χ² = 32.967, P = 0.000) and the two groups had significant statistical differences. The disease control rate at 3 mo after treatment in the drug-loaded microsphere group was 60% and the disease control rate at 3 mo after treatment in the traditional TACE group was 75.9% (χ² = 4.091, P = 0.252). There was no statistical difference between the two groups of data. During the follow-up period, the number of interventional treatments received was once in the drug-loaded microsphere group and the traditional TACE group received an average of 1.48 treatments (χ² = 10.444 P = 0.005). There was a statistical difference between the two groups.

CONCLUSION

Compared with traditional TACE, D-TACE may have some advantages in the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma with a large tumor load in the short term, but the long-term clinical efficacy needs additional follow-up studies. In addition, compared with the traditional group, the patients in the drug-loaded microsphere group had better subjective tolerance and could reduce the number of interventional treatments. Therefore, D-TACE is worthy of clinical promotion.

Vandetanib-eluting radiopaque beads for chemoembolization: physicochemical evaluation and biological activity of vandetanib in hypoxia

Vandetanib-eluting radiopaque beads (VERB) have been developed for use in transarterial chemoembolization of liver tumours, with the goal of combining embolization with local delivery of antiangiogenic therapy. The objective of this study was to investigate how embolization-induced hypoxia may affect antitumoural activity of vandetanib, an inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), in the context of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment. We studied the effect of vandetanib on proliferation, cell cycle and apoptosis of HCC cells, in hypoxic conditions, as well as the direct effects of the beads on 3D HCC spheroids. Vandetanib suppressed proliferation and induced apoptosis of HCC cells in vitro and was equipotent in hypoxic and normoxic conditions. High degrees of apoptosis were observed among cell lines in which vandetanib suppressed ERK1/2 phosphorylation and upregulated the proapoptotic protein Bim, but this did not appear essential for vandetanib-induced cell death in all cell lines. Vandetanib also suppressed the hypoxia-induced secretion of VEGF from HCC cells and inhibited proliferation of endothelial cells. Incubation of tumour spheroids with VERB led to sustained growth inhibition equivalent to the effect of free drug. We conclude that vandetanib has both antiangiogenic and direct anticancer activity against HCC cells even in hypoxic conditions, warranting the further evaluation of VERB as novel anticancer agents.

Adipose most abundant 2 protein is a predictive marker for cisplatin sensitivity in cancers

Cisplatin (CDDP) is one of the chemotherapeutic drugs being used to treat various cancers. Although effective in many cases, as high doses of CDDP cause cytotoxic effects that may worsen patients' condition, therefore, a marker of sensitivity to CDDP is necessary to enhance the safety and efficiency of CDDP administration. This study focused on adipose most abundant 2 (APM2) to examine its potential as a marker of CDDP sensitivity. The relationship of APM2 expression with the mechanisms of CDDP resistance was examined in vitro and in vivo using hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells, tissues and serum of HCC patients (n = 71) treated initially with intrahepatic arterial infusion of CDDP followed by surgical resection. The predictability of serum APM2 for CDDP sensitivity was assessed in additional 54 HCC patients and 14 gastric cancer (GC) patients. APM2 expression in CDDP-resistant HCC was significantly higher both in serum and the tissue. Bioinformatic analyses and histological analyses demonstrated upregulation of ERCC6L (DNA excision repair protein ERCC6-like) by APM2, which accounts for the degree of APM2 expression. The serum APM2 level and chemosensitivity for CDDP were assessed and cut-off value of serum APM2 for predicting the sensitivity to CDDP was determined to be 18.7 µg/mL. The value was assessed in HCC (n = 54) and GC (n = 14) patients for its predictability of CDDP sensitivity, resulted in predictive value of 77.3% and 100%, respectively. Our study demonstrated that APM2 expression is related to CDDP sensitivity and serum APM2 can be an effective biomarker of HCC and GC for determining the sensitivity to CDDP.Trial registration: This study was registered with the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN000028487).

Novel 1,4‑naphthoquinone derivatives induce reactive oxygen species‑mediated apoptosis in liver cancer cells

Derivatives of 1,4-naphthoquinone have excellent anti-cancer effects, but their use has been greatly limited due to their serious side effects. To develop compounds with decreased side effects and improved anti-cancer activity, two novel types of 1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives, 2,3-dihydro-2,3-epoxy-2-propylsulfonyl-5,8-dimethoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (EPDMNQ) and 2,3-dihydro-2,3-epoxy-2-nonylsulfonyl-5,8-dimethoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (ENDMNQ) were synthesized and their anti-tumor activities were investigated. The effects of EPDMNQ and ENDMNQ on cell viability, apoptosis and accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in liver cancer cells were determined by MTT cell viability assay and flow cytometry. The expression levels of mitochondrial, mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling pathway-associated proteins in Hep3B liver cancer cells were analyzed by western blot analysis. The results demonstrated that EPDMNQ and ENDMNQ inhibited the proliferation of liver cancer Hep3B, HepG2, and Huh7 cell lines but not that of normal liver L-02, normal lung IMR-90 and stomach GES-1 cell lines. The number of apoptotic cells and ROS levels were significantly increased following treatment with EPDMNQ and ENDMNQ, and these effects were blocked by the ROS inhibitor N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) in Hep3B cells. EPDMNQ and ENDMNQ induced apoptosis by upregulating the protein expression of p38 MAPK and c-Jun N-terminal kinase and downregulating extracellular signal-regulated kinase and STAT3; these effects were inhibited by NAC. The results of the present study demonstrated that EPDMNQ and ENDMNQ induced apoptosis through ROS-modulated MAPK and STAT3 signaling pathways in Hep3B cells. Therefore, these novel 1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives may be useful as anticancer agents for the treatment of liver cancer.

Safety and efficacy of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization with embospheres in treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the safety and efficacy of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) with embospheres for the treatment of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODS

Patients with unresectable HCC who were treated with TACE followed by embosphere treatment (Embo-TACE) or conventional TACE (cTACE) between May 2010 and March 2014 were retrospectively included in this study. The Embo-TACE group received lipiodol and chemotherapeutic agent emulsion, followed by embospheres. The cTACE group received lipiodol and chemotherapeutic agent emulsion, followed by gelatin sponge pellets. Time to progression (TTP), overall survival (OS), overall response rate (ORR), and safety were compared between the two groups. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses of the factors affecting survival were conducted.

RESULTS

The median TTP and OS in the Embo-TACE group were significantly longer than those in the cTACE group (TPP: 7.0 months vs 5.4 months, P = 0.035; OS: 15 months vs 12 months, P = 0.032). Seven days after the first TACE treatment, alanine aminotransferase level was higher in the cTACE group than in the Embo-TACE group (P = 0.015). The ORR did not significantly differ between the two groups (P = 0.827). Additional therapy and local responses one month after the first TACE treatment were associated with OS.

CONCLUSIONS

Embo-TACE resulted in a significant improvement in TTP and OS for patients with unresectable HCC, compared with cTACE. Furthermore, Embo-TACE was better tolerated. Additional therapy and local responses one month after the first TACE were independent prognostic factors for OS.

Docetaxel-loaded lipid microbubbles combined with ultrasound-triggered microbubble destruction for targeted tumor therapy in MHCC-H cells

BACKGROUND

Efficient and targeted delivery of cytotoxic drugs is still a challenge in the fight against cancer. Ultrasound-targeted destruction of cytotoxic drug-loaded lipid microbubbles (LMs) might be a promising method. This study aimed to explore the antitumor effects of docetaxel-loaded LM (DLLM) combined with ultrasound-targeted microbubble destruction (UTMD) on liver cancer.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

DLLMs were made by a mechanical vibration technique. The effects of docetaxel, DLLM alone, and DLLM + UTMD on cell viability and cell proliferation (Cell Counting Kit-8 assay) of MHCC-H cells and HepG2 cells were tested. The effects on cell cycle (flow cytometry) and apoptosis (flow cytometry and immunoblotting) of MHCC-H cells were tested. Solid fast-growing tumor mouse models were established and were randomized to blank LM + UTMD (controls) or DLLM + UTMD. Tumor volume was compared between the two groups.

RESULTS

DLLMs had an 18%±7% drug-loading capacity, an 80%±3% encapsulation efficiency, and a mean particle size of 2,845 nm (75% range 1,527-5,534 nm). Compared to the other groups, DLLM + UTMD decreased the proliferation and increased the apoptosis of MHCC-H cells. DLLM + UTMD resulted in the inhibition of a higher proportion of cells in the G1 phase. Compared to the control group, the tumor volume in mice receiving DLLM + UTMD was smaller.

CONCLUSION

DLLM + UTMD can increase the proportion of cells arrested in the G1 phase, decrease tumor cell proliferation, and induce MHCC-H cell apoptosis. The growth of solid tumors in mice was inhibited. These results could provide a novel targeted strategy against liver cancer.

Relationship between ADH2 Arg47His variation and hepatocellular carcinoma susceptibility: a meta analysis

BACKGROUND

To further investigate the relationship between ADH2 Arg47His variation and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) susceptibility through a meta-analysis.

METHODS

The related articles were searched in PubMed, Embase and CNKI databases. And finally 518 cases and 607 controls were included in our meta-analysis Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were used to assess the relationship between ADH2 Arg47His variation and HCC risk. A fixed-effect model or a random-effect model was applied according to the between-study heterogeneity.

RESULTS

Quantitative synthesis demonstrated that no significant association was found between ADH2 Arg47His variation and HCC susceptibility (His/His vs. Arg/Arg: OR=0.99, 95% CI=0.79-1.25; His/His + Arg/His vs. Arg/Arg: OR=1.01, 95% CI=0.86-1.20; His/His vs. Arg/Arg + Arg/His: OR=0.90, 95% CI=0.74-1.11; His vs. Arg: OR=0.98, 95% CI=0.86-1.11; Arg/His vs. Arg/Arg: OR=1.05, 95% CI=0.82-1.34).

CONCLUSION

Our analysis showed that ADH2 Arg47His vvariation may not be associated with HCC susceptibility.