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Anti-liver cancer effect and the mechanism of arsenic sulfide in vitro and in vivo

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aimed at investigating the anti-tumor effect of arsenic sulfide (As2S2) against liver cancer both in vivo and in vitro and to elucidate its underlying mechanisms.

Methods

Cell viability of the human hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines SMMC-7721, BEL-7402, HepG2 were measured by CCK-8 assay. The effects of As2S2 on cell proliferation and apoptosis of SMMC-7721 cells were investigated using Calcein-AM and PI staining, Hoechst 33258 staining, crystal violet staining, and JC-1 staining. Cell cycle and Annexin V/PI assay were analyzed via flow cytometry. The expression of apoptosis-related proteins, phosphorylation of PI3K and AKT were detected by Western blotting. H22-bearing mice model was established to evaluate the anti-tumor effect of As2S2 in vivo. HE staining, PCNA was observed via immunohistochemistry, and TUNEL assay was used to assess the anti-proliferation and pro-apoptotic effects of As2S2.

Results

As2S2 significantly inhibited the growth of human hepatoma cells SMMC-7721, BEL-7402 and HepG2. As2S2 inhibited cell proliferation effectively by inducing G0/G1 cell cycle arrest in SMMC-7721 cells. As2S2 could increase Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, decrease mitochondrial membrane potential, promote the release of cytochrome c, increase the levels of cleaved caspase-3 and PARP, indicating that As2S2 induced apoptosis in SMMC-7721 cells via mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis pathway. Further research showed that As2S2 inhibited the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway leading to apoptotic cell death. In addition, As2S2 significantly inhibited tumor growth in H22-bearing mice and induced apoptosis by deactivating PI3K/AKT pathway, which was consistent with the in vitro results.

Conclusion

These findings suggested that As2S2 could induce apoptosis of liver cancer cells in vitro and in vivo, which was related to PI3K/AKT-mediated mitochondrial pathway and may provide a novel promising therapeutic agent for liver cancer treatment.

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Funding

This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 81273883).

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Author notes

  1. Shudan Wang and Chao Zhang have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, 130117, China

    Shudan Wang, Yumei Li, Ping Li, Dafang Zhang & Chaoying Li

  2. School of Life Sciences, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, China

    Chao Zhang

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  1. Shudan Wang
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  2. Chao Zhang
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Correspondence to Dafang Zhang or Chaoying Li.

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Author Shudan Wang declares that she has no conflict of interest. Author Chao Zhang declares that he has no conflict of interest. Author Yumei Li declares that she has no conflict of interest. Ping Li declares that she has no conflict of interest. Author Dafang Zhang declares that he has no conflict of interest. Author Chaoying Li declares that she has no conflict of interest.

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All applicable national and institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. This article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors.

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Wang, S., Zhang, C., Li, Y. et al. Anti-liver cancer effect and the mechanism of arsenic sulfide in vitro and in vivo. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 83, 519–530 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00280-018-3755-9

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