scholarly journals Herbal Medicine and Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Applications and Challenges

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Li ◽  
Robert C. G. Martin
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Herbal Medicine ◽  
Liver Cancer ◽  
Active Compounds ◽  
The Past ◽  
Significant Distinction ◽  
Prevention And Treatment

Use of herbal medicine in the treatment of liver cancer has a long tradition. The compounds derived from the herb and herbal composites are of considerable interest among oncologists. In the past, certain herbal compounds and herbal composite formulas have been studied throughin vitroandin vivoas an anti-hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) agent, enhancing our knowledge about their biologic functions and targets. However there is a significant distinction between the herbal medicine and the herbal production even though both are the plant-based remedies used in the practice. In this article, for the sake of clarity, the effective herbal compounds and herbal composite formulas against HCC are discussed, with emphasizing the basic conceptions of herbal medicine in order to have a better understanding of the prevention and treatment of HCC by herbal active compounds and herbal composite formulas.

scholarly journals KIF15 Promotes Proliferation and Growth of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Yue-Feng Sun ◽  
Hong-Li Wu ◽  
Rui-Fang Shi ◽  
Lin Chen ◽  
Chao Meng
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Liver Cancer ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Great Promise ◽  
Cell Processes ◽  
Multiple Cell ◽  
Molecular Therapeutic ◽  
Molecular Therapeutic Targets

Liver cancer is thought as the most common human malignancy worldwide, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for nearly 90% liver cancer. Due to its poor early diagnosis and limited treatment, HCC has therefore become the most lethal malignant cancers in the world. Recently, molecular targeted therapies showed great promise in the treatment of HCC, and novel molecular therapeutic targets is urgently needed. KIF15 is a microtubule-dependent motor protein involved in multiple cell processes, such as cell division. Additionally, KIF15 has been reported to participate in the growth of various types of tumors; however, the relation between KIF15 and HCC is unclear. Herein, our study investigated the possible role of KIF15 on the progression of HCC and found that KIF15 has high expression in tumor samples from HCC patients. KIF15 could play a critical role in the regulation of cell proliferation of HCC, which was proved by in vitro and in vivo assays. In conclusion, this study confirmed that KIF15 could be a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of HCC.

scholarly journals Telocytes Promote the Metastasis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Activating ERK Signaling Pathway and Sponging miR-942-3p to Impact MMP9

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Xu ◽  
Hu Tian ◽  
Chao Guang Luan ◽  
Kai Sun ◽  
peng Jin Bao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Liver Cancer ◽  
Signaling Pathway ◽  
Erk Signaling ◽  
Cancer Tissue ◽  
Proliferative Potential ◽  
Cancer Tissues ◽  
Hcc Cells

Abstract Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) in China is considered as a familiar malignant tumor with poor prognosis, high metastasis and disease relapse. Telocytes(TCs) have been verified to participate in progresses of tumorigenesis, invasions and migrations by secreting functional proteins and transmitting cell-to-cell information. Extracellular signal-regulared protein kinase(ERK) signal pathway is a vital mechanism driving cell proliferation, metastasis and apoptosis, but whether this molecular signaling mechanism contributes to matrix metalloproteinase-9(MMP) expression of TCs remains unclear. Methods: Telocytes and MMP9 expression in the liver cancer tissues are measured by immunohistochemistry assay, Westen blot assay and RT-PCR technique, meanwhile primary telocytes from liver para-cancer tissues are cultured in vitro. To demonstrate the function of telocytes for hepatocellular carcinoma, the metastatic cancer animal model is established by three typs of liver cancer cell-lines in vivo. Results: In our study, we elucidate that TCs in the para-cancer tissue can promote the metastasis of HCC cells by MMP-9 expression, in vitro and in vivo. PDGF derived from HCC cells has a capacity to activate Ras/ERK signaling pathway of TC as a result of accelerating MMP-9 expression, but it’s no significant for proliferative potential and apoptotic rate of TCs. While tyrosine kinase inhibitors and miR-942-3p suppress MMP-9 expression to make loss functions of TCs. Various mutations of TCs are also tested and single nucleotide polymorphisms of MMP-9 may be the potentially molecular mechanism of increasing protein expression in the invasive process of HCC. Conclusion: Our results demonstrate two potential mechanisms between HCC cells and TCs, suggesting that TC is a novel marker and target on deciphering reasons of cancer metastasis.

scholarly journals The Good, the Bad, the Question–H19 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lysann Tietze ◽  
Sonja M. Kessler
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Cancer Therapy ◽  
Liver Cancer ◽  
Primary Liver Cancer ◽  
Human Patient ◽  
In Vivo Models ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Novel Target

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common primary liver cancer, is challenging to treat due to its typical late diagnosis, mostly at an advanced stage. Therefore, there is a particular need for research in diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for HCC. The use of long noncoding (lnc) RNAs can widen the list of novel molecular targets improving cancer therapy. In hepatocarcinogenesis, the role of the lncRNA H19, which has been known for more than 30 years now, is still controversially discussed. H19 was described to work either as a tumor suppressor in vitro and in vivo, or to have oncogenic features. This review attempts to survey the conflicting study results and tries to elucidate the potential reasons for the contrary findings, i.e., different methods, models, or readout parameters. This review encompasses in vitro and in vivo models as well as studies on human patient samples. Although the function of H19 in HCC remains elusive, a short outlook summarizes some ideas of using the H19 locus as a novel target for liver cancer therapy.

scholarly journals ACOX2 is a prognostic marker and impedes the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma via PPARα pathway

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qifan Zhang ◽  
Yunbin Zhang ◽  
Shibo Sun ◽  
Kai Wang ◽  
Jianping Qian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Liver Cancer ◽  
Prognostic Significance ◽  
Gene Set Enrichment Analysis ◽  
Differentially Expressed ◽  
Cell Counting ◽  
Peroxisomal Enzyme ◽  
The Impact

AbstractHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been extensively studied as one of the most aggressive tumors worldwide. However, its mortality rate remains high due to ideal diagnosis and treatment strategies. Uncovering novel genes with prognostic significance would shed light on improving the HCC patient’s outcome. In our study, we applied data-independent acquisition (DIA) quantitative proteomics to investigate the expression landscape of 24 paired HCC patients. A total of 1029 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were screened. Then, we compared DEPs in our cohort with the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in The Cancer Genome Atlas, and investigated their prognostic significance, and found 183 prognosis-related genes (PRGs). By conducting protein–protein interaction topological analysis, we identified four subnetworks with prognostic significance. Acyl-CoA oxidase 2 (ACOX2) is a novel gene in subnetwork1, encodes a peroxisomal enzyme, and its function in HCC was investigated in vivo and in vitro. The lower expression of ACOX2 was validated by real-time quantitative PCR, immunohistochemistry, and Western blot. Cell Counting Kit-8 assay, wound healing, and transwell migration assay were applied to evaluate the impact of ACOX2 overexpression on the proliferation and migration abilities in two liver cancer cell lines. ACOX2 overexpression, using a subcutaneous xenograft tumor model, indicated a tumor suppressor role in HCC. To uncover the underlying mechanism, gene set enrichment analysis was conducted, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPARα) was proposed to be a potential target. In conclusion, we demonstrated a PRG ACOX2, and its overexpression reduced the proliferation and metastasis of liver cancer in vitro and in vivo through PPARα pathway.

scholarly journals Interleukin 35 Activates Intratumor Neovascularization Via Enhanced Secretion of FGF2 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Through The Recruitment of Neutrophils, and Blocking it Could Facilitate The Efficacy of The PD-1 Antibody

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Gan ◽  
Mei-Xia Zhang ◽  
Jin-Long Huang ◽  
Pei-Yun Zhou ◽  
Cheng Zhou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Liver Cancer ◽  
Animal Experiments ◽  
Treatment Strategies ◽  
Tumor Model ◽  
Neutrophil Infiltration ◽  
Cell Counting ◽  
Adhesion Assay

Abstract Background: Recently, more and more treatment strategies for Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have emerged, but the therapeutic effect is still not satisfactory. This study is aimed to explore the mechanism of Interleukin 35 (IL-35) in promoting the progression of liver cancer and to explore the application value of IL-35 in the treatment of HCC.Methods: We used clinical tissue microarray (TMA) immunohistochemistry (IHC) to explore the prognostic value of IL-35 expression in patients with HCC. The effect of IL-35 on the function of HCC was explored by functional experiments including wound-healing assay, transwell, cell counting kit-8, cell adhesion assay and endothelial tube formation assay in vitro and mouse xenografts in vivo. And flow cytometry was used to study the effect of IL-35 on infiltrating immune cells in tumor. The molecular mechanism of the function of IL-35 on the progression of HCC was explored by sequencing, ELISA, WB, PCR and other technical means. Finally, through in vivo tumor animal experiments to explore the value of anti-IL-35 antibody and combined with anti-PD-1 antibody in the treatment of liver cancer.Results: High expression of IL-35 in patients with HCC were identified to be associated with poor prognosis. And we have found that IL-35 facilitated tumor progression by affecting neutrophil infiltration, angiogenesis, and CD8+ T-cell infiltration in a mouse model. Additionally, on the one hand C-C motif chemokine ligand 3 (CCL3) has been found to be a key factor mediating the recruitment of neutrophils by IL-35, on the other hand fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) secreting by neutrophil when stimulated by IL-35 was also found to be the core cytokine to promote intratumoral angiogenesis. And IL-35 was also discovered to facilitated the adhesion of tumor to endothelial cells, with neutrophils further enhancing this effect in vitro and vivo. More important, anti-IL-35 antibody was found to be a valid treatment for HCC in xenograft tumor model, and it could give full play to the curative effect of 1:1＞2 when combination therapy with PD-1 antibody.Conclusion: Our data show that the expression of IL-35 in patients with HCC is an important tumor promoting factor. The application of anti-IL-35 antibody and treatment combined anti-IL-35 antibody with anti-PD-1 antibody have potential therapeutic value in the treatment of liver cancer.

Molecular Mechanism of Bushen Jianpi Inhibition of Postoperative Recurrence and Metastasis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-63
Author(s):  
Zhangjie Zhou ◽  
Shujuan Fu ◽  
Yun Li ◽  
Zujun Que ◽  
Xinhua Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Bile Acid ◽  
Chinese Medicine ◽  
Traditional Chinese Medicine ◽  
Liver Cancer ◽  
Immune Cell ◽  
Cancer Recurrence ◽  
Bile Acid Metabolism

Compared with western medicine, traditional Chinese medicine can better regulate the internal environment and inhibit liver cancer recurrence and metastasis. Bushen Jianpi Recipe (BSJPR) is a traditional Chinese medicine for tonifying the kidney and invigorating the spleen. It has also been used to treat tumors and other related diseases. Here we explore the efficacy of BSJPR inhibition of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in vivo and in vitro . We hypothesize that BSJPR reduces intrahepatic cholestasis and inflammation and increases expression of the bile acid receptor and downstream targets. This study aims to test this hypothesis and determine whether the inhibitory effect of BSJPR on liver cancer recurrence and metastasis is related to bile acid metabolism. We also observed changes in immune cell expression, suggesting that regulation of the immune microenvironment could inhibit the recurrence and metastasis of HCC. These findings provide a basis for the treatment of HCC and new ideas for follow-up studies of BSJPR.

Telocytes Promote Hepatocellular Carcinoma by Activating The ERK Signaling Pathway and miR-942-3p/MMP9 Axis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Xu ◽  
Hu Tian ◽  
Chao Guang Luan ◽  
Kai Sun ◽  
Peng Jin Bao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Liver Cancer ◽  
Signaling Pathway ◽  
Metastatic Cancer ◽  
Erk Signaling ◽  
Mmp9 Expression ◽  
Cancer Tissues

Abstract Background In China, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is considered a malignant tumor with poor prognosis, frequent metastasis, and a high relapse rate. Telocytes participate in tumorigenic, invasive, and migratory processes by secreting functional proteins and transmitting cell-to-cell information, but theirs functions in HCC are still unknown. Methods TC counts and MMP9 expression in liver cancer tissues were measured using immunohistochemistry, western blotting, and RT-PCR. Primary TCs from liver para-cancer tissues were cultured in vitro. To verify the role of TCs in HCC, a metastatic cancer animal model was established using 3 types of liver cancer cell lines in vivo. Results TCs promoted HCC cell metastasis by MMP9 expression in vitro and in vivo. Platelet derived growth factor-alpha (PDGF-α), secreted by HCC cells, activated the Ras/ERK signaling pathway in TCs, thereby increasing MMP9 expression; however, this had no significant effect on TC proliferation and apoptosis. miR-942-3p suppressed MMP9 expression in TCs. Conclusion Our results reveal the role of TCs in HCC and the mechanisms by which they elicit their effects, and they may serve as novel prognostic markers for HCC.

scholarly journals Effect of borrelidin on hepatocellular carcinoma cells in vitro and in vivo

RSC Advances ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (70) ◽  
pp. 44401-44409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoxiao Gao ◽  
Yi Jiang ◽  
Li Han ◽  
Xiu Chen ◽  
Caijuan Hu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Liver Cancer ◽  
Common Type ◽  
Carcinoma Cells ◽  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells ◽  
High Prevalence

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common type of liver cancer with high prevalence and mortality.

scholarly journals Overexpression of SMYD3 contributes to sorafenib resistance by epigenetically activating the expression of multiple cancer-promoting genes in hepatocellular carcinoma

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shanshan Wang ◽  
Xinxin You ◽  
Fengwei Zhang ◽  
Hongjuan Zhou ◽  
Xuechai Shang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽  
Liver Cancer ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Core Promoter ◽  
Multiple Cancer ◽  
Mesenchymal Transition ◽  
Resistant Cells

Abstract Background The resistance mechanism to sorafenib in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains poorly understood. Recent evidence has demonstrated the enrichment of liver cancer stem cells (CSCs) as culprit for treatment resistance. In liver cancer development, SMYD3 epigenetically activates or overexpresses JAK/STAT3 pathway, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) pathway, SOX4 and MYC oncogenes, which play crucial roles in liver CSC. In this study, we demonstrate the novel role of SMYD3 in HCC resistance to sorafenib therapy. Methods We used sorafenib-resistant HCC in vitro and in vivo models to study the relationship between sorafenib resistance and SMYD3 expression. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) were used to analyze the mechanism of SMYD3 regulation. Stemness and metastatic properties were investigated after treatment with SMYD3 depletion alone or in combination with sorafenib to evaluate the therapeutic effect on sorafenib resistance by in vitro and in vivo experiments. Result We identified overexpression of SMYD3 and subsequent increase of histone H3K4me3 as a novel pathway of acquired resistance to sorafenib in HCC. We also found that multiple SMYD3-mediated cancer-promoting genes exhibited up-regulation in sorafenib-resistant HCC cells and tumors. Inhibition of SMYD3 by a small-molecular inhibitor BCL121 or genetic means suppressed the transcription of SMYD3 target genes via the inhibition of the recruitment of H3K4me3-midifed histone tails to the core promoter regions of these genes. Restoration of wide-type SMYD3 protein in sorafenib-resistant cells with SMYD3 knockdown partly rescued the expression of target genes, while mutant SMYD3 did not. As such, modulating SMYD3 expression or activity in vitro and in vivo models inhibited the transcription output of target genes, mainly through SOX4, MYC, JAK1 and ZEB1 genes, and suppressed activation of their associated pathways, including EMT, JAK/STAT3, SOX4 and MYC pathway, and consequently weakened the stemness and metastatic properties of sorafenib-resistant cells in vitro and suppressed the relapse and metastasis of sorafenib-resistant tumors in vivo. Conclusion SMYD3 conferred sorafenib-resistant cells enhanced stemness and metastatic properties in HCC by epigenetically activating the expression of multiple cancer-promoting genes. SMYD3 could be a rational target for therapeutic intervention in sorafenib-resistant HCC.

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