TRAIL (TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand) is a member of the tumor necrosis factor superfamily that can induce tumor selective death by up-regulating death receptor 4 (DR4) and DR5 expression. The study aimed to explore the role of RIP and c-FLIP genes in TRAIL induced liver cancer cell HepG2 and Hep3B apoptosis and related mechanism. RIP and c-FLIP silenced HepG2 and Hep3B cell model were ...

BACKGROUND Cancer cells survival depends on glucose metabolism and ATP. Inhibiting glucose metabolism is a possible anticancer treatment. The phosphorylation of 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG), which is a glycogen analogue, seriously affects the normal glycometabolism phosphorylation process, leading to ATP consumption. Studies showed that 2-DG could regulate RIP and c-FLIP. This paper aimed to invest...

Targeting cancer stem cells with oncolytic virus (OV) holds great potential for thorough elimination of cancer cells. Based on our previous studies, we here established 11R-P53 and mGM-CSF carrying oncolytic adenovirus (OAV) SG655-mGMP and investigated its therapeutic effect on hepatocellular carcinoma stem cells Hep3B-C and teratoma stem cells ECCG5. Firstly, the augmenting effect of 11R in ou...

OBJECTIVE Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) is a yellow-colored polyphenol with antiproliferative and proapoptotic activities to various types of cancer cells. This study explored the mechanism by which curcumin induces p53-null hepatoma cell apoptosis. RESULTS AKT, FOXO1, and FOXO3 proteins were downregulated after curcumin treatment. Conversely, PTEN was upregulated. Subcellular fractionations r...

Burdock (Arctium lappa) is a popular vegetable in China and Japan that is consumed for its general health benefits. The principal active component of burdock is arctigenin, which shows a range of bioactivities in vivo and in vitro. Here, we investigated the potential anti-tumor effects of arctigenin using two human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines, HepG2 and Hep3B, and sought to elucid...

PURPOSE To characterize tumor response to percutaneous injection of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) antagonists in a mouse model of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS Animal experiments were approved by the Johns Hopkins University Animal Care and Use Committee. Luciferase (luc) gene-expressing Hep3B tumor-bearing athymic nude mice were randomly divid...

There is evidence that the inadequate erythropoietin (Epo) production observed in patients undergoing allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) might be ascribed to an inhibitory effect caused by the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporin A (CsA). In this in vitro study, we have evaluated the effects of CsA on the release of Epo in the culture medium by the human Hep3B hepatoma cell line. In cul...

Insulin-like growth factors initiate tyrosyl phosphorylation of the insulin receptor substrate I (IRS-I) protein and activate multiple signaling pathways essential for liver growth. This gene has been found to be up-regulated in human hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs), and overexpression of IRS-1 in NIH 3T3 cells leads to malignant transformation with activation of the mitogen-activated protein ...

Non-coding microRNAs (miRNAs), involved in post-transcriptional control, are widely involved in the mechanism of cellular resistance to antitumor chemotherapy. Ectopic expression of one of these miRNAs, miRNA‑215 (miR‑215), leads to chemoresistance by directly targeting dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) and thymidylate synthase (TS), which are two of the most important targets of chemotherapeutic ...

Sorafenib, a multi-kinase inhibitor, is the only standard clinical drug for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, development of sorafenib resistance in HCC often prevents its long-term efficacy. Therefore, novel targets and strategies are urgently needed to improve the antitumor effect of sorafenib. In the present study, we examined the novel mechanisms of sorafenib r...