Regorafenib and ginsenoside combination therapy: inhibition of HepG2 cell growth through modulating survivin and caspase‑3 gene expression

• B. Wang ^[1] ; F. Wang ^[2] ; A. Ding ^[3] ; H. Zhao ^[4] ; X. Bu ^[5]
  1. [1] Ward 3, Department of Hepatology, Jinan Infectious Disease Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan 250021, People’s Republic of China
  2. [2] Department of Respiration, Jinan Infectious Disease Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan 250021, People’s Republic of China
  3. [3] Ward 4, Department of Hepatology, Jinan Infectious Disease Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan 250021, People’s Republic of China
  4. [4] Ward 2, Department of Liver Cirrhosis, Jinan Infectious Disease Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan 250021, People’s Republic of China
  5. [5] Ward 1, Department of Liver Cirrhosis, Jinan Infectious Disease Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, No. 22029 Jingshi Road, Jinan 250021, People’s Republic of China

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• Localización: Clinical & translational oncology, ISSN 1699-048X, Vol. 22, Nº. 9, 2020, págs. 1491-1498
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Background This work aimed to investigate the inhibitory effect of regorafenib in combination with ginsenoside on the growth of HepG2 liver cancer cells.

    Methods HepG2 liver cancer cells were divided into blank control group, regorafenib single-drug group, ginsenoside single- drug group, and regorafenib/ginsenoside combination group. Cells in the regorafenib single-drug group were treated with regorafenib at 0.25 mg/L, 0.5 mg/L, and 1 mg/L, respectively, while cells in the ginsenoside single-drug group were treated with ginsenoside at 5.0 mg/L, 10.0 mg/L, and 20.0 mg/L, respectively. HepG2 cell proliferation, expression of survivin mRNA, and the apoptotic effector caspase-3 in HepG2 liver cancer cells were assessed.

    Results An inhibitory effect on the growth of HepG2 liver cancer cells was observed for both the single-drug therapies and the combination therapy. The synergistic inhibitory effect presented by the combination therapy was dependent on the gradi- ent concentration and treatment time. RT-qPCR results showed that both regorafenib and ginsenoside significantly reduced the expression of survivin mRNA in HepG2 liver cancer cells and the expression level of survivin mRNA in the regorafenib/ ginsenoside combination group was much lower than those in the regorafenib single-drug group and ginsenoside single-drug group. The two drugs demonstrated synergistic inhibitory effect when used in combination.

    Conclusions The findings in this study offered a theoretical insight into clinical use of regorafenib and ginsenoside for treat - ment of liver cancer.