Synergistic Growth-Suppressive Effects of Quercetin and Cisplatin on HepG2 Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells

• Published in: Applied biochemistry and biotechnology 2014-01, Vol.172 (2), p.784-791
• Main Authors: Zhao, Ji-ling, Zhao, Jing, Jiao, Hong-jun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: anticarcinogenic activity; Apoptosis; Apoptosis - drug effects; Apoptosis - genetics; Biochemistry; Biological and medical sciences; Biotechnology; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - genetics; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular - pathology; Cell cycle; cell growth; cell proliferation; Cell Proliferation - drug effects; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Chemotherapy; cisplatin; Cisplatin - pharmacology; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16 - metabolism; Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; Drug Synergism; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; G1 Phase Cell Cycle Checkpoints - drug effects; G1 Phase Cell Cycle Checkpoints - genetics; Gene expression; Hep G2 Cells; hepatoma; Humans; Liver cancer; Liver Neoplasms - genetics; Liver Neoplasms - pathology; Neoplasm Proteins - genetics; Neoplasm Proteins - metabolism; quercetin; Quercetin - pharmacology; RNA interference
• ISSN: 0273-2289; 1559-0291
• DOI: 10.1007/s12010-013-0561-z

Quercetin, a natural flavonoid, exhibits anticancer effects. The aim of this study is to determine whether the combination of quercetin with cisplatin, a conventional chemotherapeutic drug, would have synergistic suppressive effects on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. To this end, HepG2 cells were exposed to quercetin (50 μM) or cisplatin (10 μM) alone or combination of both and cell proliferation and apoptosis were investigated. Our data revealed that the combination of quercetin and cisplatin was significantly (P