Combination Treatment with Sorafenib and Wh-4 Additively Suppresses the Proliferation of Liver Cancer Cells

Overview

Journal Exp Ther Med

Specialty Pathology

Date 2022 Feb 28

PMID 35222709

Authors

Su-Hong Chen

Dan-Dan Xu

Peng-Jun Zhou

Yao Wang

Qiu-Ying Liu

Zhe Ren

Zhong Liu

Xia Wang

Hui-Qing Huang

Xue Xue

Ying Wang

Yi-Fei Wang

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Sorafenib is currently used to treat hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the development of chemoresistance to sorafenib is a major limitation for sorafenib-based therapy in patients with HCC. In the present study, the effect of the combination therapy of sorafenib and wh-4 on the proliferation of liver cancer cells was investigated. The results showed that sorafenib with wh-4 additively suppressed the proliferation of liver cancer cells. The colony formation of liver cancer cells decreased significantly in response to the combination treatment of sorafenib with wh-4, and it also induced the apoptosis of liver cancer cells. Western blot analysis demonstrated decreased expression of Bcl2, and increased expression of Bax in liver cancer cells treated with a combination of sorafenib and wh-4. Moreover, the migration of liver cancer cells was inhibited. The combination treatment of sorafenib with wh-4 reduced the expression levels of and which are responsible for resistance. Finally, STAT3 overexpression abolished the proliferation inhibition effect of sorafenib with wh-4 on liver cancer cells, and sorafenib and wh-4 suppressed the proliferation of liver cancer cells by STAT3 pathway. Together, these results suggest that sorafenib-wh4 combination treatment is a potential novel therapeutic approach to suppress the proliferation of liver cancer cells.

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