Effects of blueberries on migration, invasion, proliferation, the cell cycle and apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma cells

Abstract

Abstract. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of blueberry consumption on the migration, invasion, proliferation, cell cycle and apoptosis in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells, in order to provide clinical treatment and prevention strategies for liver cancer using anticancer therapeutic agents. Rabbiteye blueberry was prepared as fresh juice and fed to rats at low, moderate and high dosages (25, 50 and 100%, respectively) by daily gastric gavage. Seven days later, the rats were sacrificed and the blood serum was obtained for co-culture with HEPG2 cells. The MTT assay was used for detecting cell proliferation, Transwell assay was performed for migration and invasion evaluation, and cell cycle and apoptosis were assessed by flow cytometry. After co-culturing with the blood serum of rats that were fed different dosages of blueberry juice, the inhibition rate of HEPG2 cells in the three groups was significantly lower than that in the control group at 48 and 72 h (P<0.05). The number of migrated and transmembrane HEPG2 cells in the three groups was significantly lower than that in the control group at 48 and 72 h (P<0.05). The number of migrated HEPG2 cells in the high dosage group was significantly lower than that in the low dosage group at 48 h, and the numbers of migrated HEPG2 cells in the high and moderate dosage groups were significantly lower than that in the low dosage group at 72 h (P<0.05). The number of transmembrane HEPG2 cells in the high dosage group was significantly lower than that in the low dosage group at 48 h (P<0.05). The numbers of HEPG2 cells at the G 2 /M stage in the three groups were significantly lower than that in the control group, and the number of HEPG2 cells in the high dosage group was significantly lower than that in the low dosage group, at 48 and 72 h (P<0.05). The apoptosis rate in the three groups was significantly higher than that in the control group, and the apoptosis rate in the high dosage group was significantly higher than that in the low dosage group at 48 and 72 h (P<0.05). Thus, blueberries may facilitate the clinical treatment of HCC, providing a novel therapeutic and prevention strategy for HCC as an anticancer therapeutic agent.

Protection of hepatocyte mitochondrial function by blueberry juice and probiotics via SIRT1 regulation in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

“…Accumulating evidence shows the involvement of blueberry or probiotics in the protection of the liver from diseases due to a high-fat diet, 17 liver fibrosis, 18 and hepatocellular carcinoma. 19,20 However, little is known about the effect of the combination of blueberry and probiotics on liver diseases. Our previous study revealed that the combination of blueberry juice and probiotics exhibits a better ameliorating effect on Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) compared to only blueberry or probiotics.…”

The Identification of Core Gene Expression Signature in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

“…Dysregulated cell cycle-mediated cell transformation and uncontrolled cell growth are some of the fundamental biological features of malignant tumors. Amplification of cyclin genes, especially cyclins D and E, is a crucial event process which occurs in the HCC [ 29 , 30 ]. Masaki et al found that in Long-Evans Cinnamon (LEC) rats, with the progression of HCC, cyclin D1-related kinase activities were dramatically enhanced, in particular, the cyclin D1-related enzymatic activity.…”

Study of encapsulation and anticancer properties of plant extracts with probiotics

“…Regarding the necrotic cells, there was no significant difference in both cells compared to the negative control with a percentage of 4.62% ± 0.16 for Hepa 1c1c7 and 11.14% ± 1.57 for HT-29. Our study corroborates with Zhan et al (2016) who investigated the effects of blueberry juice consumption on rats under human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells and it was observed that the percentage of apoptosis in the groups receiving blueberry juice dosages was significantly higher compared to the control group. In vitro studies have shown that the effects of blueberry on the protopic effect of anthocyanins in different cancer cell lines have been reported (VUONG et al, 2016;YI et al, 2006).…”