ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the inhibitory effects and mechanisms of α-hederin,an active ingredient in Fruc-tus Akebiae,on hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)cells.Methods HCC cells were divided into four groups and treated with α-hederin(0,10,20,and 30 μmol·L-1)for 24 h and 48 h,respectively.MTT assays were used to detect the cell proliferation rate,flow cytometry(FCM)was used to detect the apoptotic rate,transcriptomics was used to screen signaling pathways in α-hederin-treated HCC cells,RNA interference was exploited to verify the underlying signaling pathway,and real-time quantitative PCR(qRT-PCR)and Western blotting(WB)were used to detect expression changes of the mRNA and protein of TP53(p53),PMAIP1(Noxa),and apoptosis-associated proteins,Caspase9 and Caspase3.Results α-Hederin induced apoptosis by activa-ting apoptosis-associated proteins,PARP,Caspase9 and Caspase3.Transcriptomics,qRT-PCR,and WB results also showed that α-hederin increased the mRNA and protein expression of p53 and Noxa.Furthermore,α-hederin inhibited the protein degradation of p53 and Noxa,reversing the apoptosis decrease in p53/Noxa siRNA-knocked-down HCC cells.In vivo results showed that α-hederin inhibited the growth of HCC tumors.Conclusion α-hederin may induce the apoptosis of HCC cells by activating and stabilizing the p53/Noxa signaling pathway.