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It has been demonstrated that many flavonoids possess a potent and broad spectrum of antitumor activity. Liquiritigenin is a flavanone extracted from Glycyrrhizae. This study investigated the effects of liquiritigenin on cell viability and apoptosis induction in human cervical carcinoma (HeLa) cells. The results show that liquiritigenin significantly suppressed cell proliferation in a dose- and time-dependent manner in HeLa cells. In addition, liquiritigenin promoted apoptosis in HeLa cells, evidenced by apoptotic morphological changes and Annexin-V binding. The apoptosis induction with liquiritigenin is associated with the up-regulation of p53 and Bax, along with down-regulation of Bcl-2 and survivin. Finally, examination of the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis revealed that cytochrome c is released from mitochondria to cytosol, associated with the activation of caspase-9 and -3, and the cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). Overall, the results indicate that liquiritigenin induces apoptosis in part via the mitochondrial pathway, which is associated with p53 up-regulation, release of cytochrome c and elevated activity of caspase-9 and -3 in HeLa cells.

Liquiritigenin (LQ) is a non-toxic dietary flavonoid with chemopreventive and anticancer properties. However, the mechanism of its antiangiogenesis remains unclear. Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and its downstream target, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), play a critical role in tumour angiogenesis and represent an attractive chemotherapeutic target. In this study, we investigated the effect of LQ on the molecular mechanism of angiogenesis. We found that LQ inhibited VEGF expression at both mRNA and protein levels. Liquiritigenin did not affect HIF-1α expression at the mRNA level, but it dramatically inhibited both serum- and mimicked hypoxic-induced HIF-1α protein accumulation in HeLa cells. Furthermore, we showed that LQ inhibited serum-induced expression of HIF-1α by reducing its stability and decreased the synthesis in a dose-dependent manner. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that LQ inhibited HIF-1α and VEGF expression involved in blocking the protein kinase B (PKB/Akt) signalling pathway, and the mechanisms correlated with dephosphorylation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and its effector ribosomal protein S6 kinase (p70S6K). In addition, LQ inhibited VEGF-induced formation of capillary-like structures in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Taken together, our study provided valuable insights into the mechanism of antiangiogenic effect of LQ.

BackgroundTo investigate the relationship 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25OHD) level among children and in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM).MethodsA case–control study was conducted to compare the serum 25OHD levels between cases and controls. This study recruited 296 T1DM children (106 newly diagnosed T1DM patients and 190 established T1DM patients), and 295 age- and gender-matched healthy subjects as controls.ResultsThe mean serum 25OHD in T1DM children was 48.69 ± 15.26 nmol/L and in the controls was 57.93 ± 19.03 nmol/L. The mean serum 25OHD in T1DM children was lower than that of controls (P < 0.01). The mean serum 25OHD level (50.42 ± 14.74 nmol/L) in the newly diagnosed T1DM children was higher than that (47.70 ± 15.50 nmol/L) in the established T1DM children but the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.16). HbA1c values were associated with 25OHD levels in established T1DM children (r = 0.264, P < 0.01), and there was no association between 25OHD and HbA1c in newly diagnosed T1DM children (r = 0.164; P > 0.05).ConclusionVitamin D deficiency is common in T1DM children, and it should be worthy of attention on the lack of vitamin D in established T1DM children.