Mechanism of cordycepin enhancing doxorubicin against hepatocellular carcinoma in vitro and in vivo

Liver cancer is a serious disease with global impact. Due to the poor prognosis of liver cancer, there is an urgent need to develop new therapeutic options. The aim of the present study was to investigate the feasibility of cordycepin combined with doxorubicin for the treatment of liver cancer and i...

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Main Authors: Xiaomin Li, Wenya Wu, Fenghua Cao, Xin Hu, Xiaoping Wu, Junsheng Fu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2022-11-01
Series:Journal of Functional Foods
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1756464622003383
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author Xiaomin Li
Wenya Wu
Fenghua Cao
Xin Hu
Xiaoping Wu
Junsheng Fu
author_facet Xiaomin Li
Wenya Wu
Fenghua Cao
Xin Hu
Xiaoping Wu
Junsheng Fu
author_sort Xiaomin Li
collection DOAJ
description Liver cancer is a serious disease with global impact. Due to the poor prognosis of liver cancer, there is an urgent need to develop new therapeutic options. The aim of the present study was to investigate the feasibility of cordycepin combined with doxorubicin for the treatment of liver cancer and its mechanism of action. In vitro and in vivo studies revealed that cordycepin combined with doxorubicin effectively inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma. Network pharmacology analysis of the anticancer mechanism of cordycepin combined with doxorubicin showed that 82 potential targets were enriched in “Proteoglycans in cancer”, “TNF signaling pathway”, “MicroRNAs in cancer”, “Epithelial cell signaling in Helicobacter pylori infection”, “Pathways in cancer”. MYC is the target with the largest Degree value in the PPI network, revealing that MYC may play an important role in combination anticancer. It was further suggested that combined treatment could downstream of c-Myc to regulate apoptosis-related genes, such as BCL2, MCL1, PARP1 and CASP3, thereby inducing apoptosis. At the same time, we demonstrated that the drug combination regulated the expression of genes related to cell migration, such as MMP9, MMP3 and ICAM1, thereby inhibiting cell migration. In vivo, the combined treatment suppressed the growth of HepG-2 xenograft-bearing nude mice by inducing apoptosis, and the inhibition rate of the combination group was higher than that of the single treatment group. In summary, the present study demonstrated that cordycepin potentiates the sensitivity of liver cancer cells to doxorubicin, suggesting that it may be a potential anticancer drug.
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spelling doaj.art-1e29a486779a4555a2cccb75747e4d672022-12-22T04:34:48ZengElsevierJournal of Functional Foods1756-46462022-11-0198105268Mechanism of cordycepin enhancing doxorubicin against hepatocellular carcinoma in vitro and in vivoXiaomin Li0Wenya Wu1Fenghua Cao2Xin Hu3Xiaoping Wu4Junsheng Fu5College of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China; Mycological Research Center, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, ChinaCollege of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China; Mycological Research Center, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, ChinaCollege of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China; Mycological Research Center, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, ChinaCollege of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China; Mycological Research Center, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, ChinaCollege of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China; Mycological Research Center, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, ChinaCorresponding author at: College of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China.; College of Life Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, China; Mycological Research Center, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, ChinaLiver cancer is a serious disease with global impact. Due to the poor prognosis of liver cancer, there is an urgent need to develop new therapeutic options. The aim of the present study was to investigate the feasibility of cordycepin combined with doxorubicin for the treatment of liver cancer and its mechanism of action. In vitro and in vivo studies revealed that cordycepin combined with doxorubicin effectively inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma. Network pharmacology analysis of the anticancer mechanism of cordycepin combined with doxorubicin showed that 82 potential targets were enriched in “Proteoglycans in cancer”, “TNF signaling pathway”, “MicroRNAs in cancer”, “Epithelial cell signaling in Helicobacter pylori infection”, “Pathways in cancer”. MYC is the target with the largest Degree value in the PPI network, revealing that MYC may play an important role in combination anticancer. It was further suggested that combined treatment could downstream of c-Myc to regulate apoptosis-related genes, such as BCL2, MCL1, PARP1 and CASP3, thereby inducing apoptosis. At the same time, we demonstrated that the drug combination regulated the expression of genes related to cell migration, such as MMP9, MMP3 and ICAM1, thereby inhibiting cell migration. In vivo, the combined treatment suppressed the growth of HepG-2 xenograft-bearing nude mice by inducing apoptosis, and the inhibition rate of the combination group was higher than that of the single treatment group. In summary, the present study demonstrated that cordycepin potentiates the sensitivity of liver cancer cells to doxorubicin, suggesting that it may be a potential anticancer drug.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1756464622003383CordycepinDoxorubicinDrug combinationCell migrationCell apoptosis
spellingShingle Xiaomin Li
Wenya Wu
Fenghua Cao
Xin Hu
Xiaoping Wu
Junsheng Fu
Mechanism of cordycepin enhancing doxorubicin against hepatocellular carcinoma in vitro and in vivo
Journal of Functional Foods
Cordycepin
Doxorubicin
Drug combination
Cell migration
Cell apoptosis
title Mechanism of cordycepin enhancing doxorubicin against hepatocellular carcinoma in vitro and in vivo
title_full Mechanism of cordycepin enhancing doxorubicin against hepatocellular carcinoma in vitro and in vivo
title_fullStr Mechanism of cordycepin enhancing doxorubicin against hepatocellular carcinoma in vitro and in vivo
title_full_unstemmed Mechanism of cordycepin enhancing doxorubicin against hepatocellular carcinoma in vitro and in vivo
title_short Mechanism of cordycepin enhancing doxorubicin against hepatocellular carcinoma in vitro and in vivo
title_sort mechanism of cordycepin enhancing doxorubicin against hepatocellular carcinoma in vitro and in vivo
topic Cordycepin
Doxorubicin
Drug combination
Cell migration
Cell apoptosis
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1756464622003383
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