xanthohumol and Liver-Neoplasms

Topics: Animals; Anticarcinogenic Agents; Apoptosis; Cyclooxygenase 2 Inhibitors; Down-Regulation; Drug Combinations; Flavonoids; Hep G2 Cells; Hepatoblastoma; Humans; Isothiocyanates; Liver Neoplasms; Male; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mice, Nude; NAD(P)H Dehydrogenase (Quinone); NF-E2-Related Factor 2; NF-kappa B; Propiophenones; Signal Transduction; Superoxide Dismutase; Tumor Burden; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

Two biotinylated derivatives of the main hop chalcone xanthohumol (1) were prepared by a one-step synthesis via esterification using biotin and 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC×HCl) and 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) as coupling reagents. The products were characterized spectroscopically and their antiproliferative activity toward MCF-7, MCF-10A, HepG2, MDA-MB-231, 4T1 and Balb/3T3 cell lines was investigated using the SRB assay. For all three tested compounds the best activity was noted in the case of human (MCF-7) and mice (4T1) breast cancer cell lines (IC50 values < 9 μM). Both biotinylated derivatives showed slightly higher anticancer activity than xanthohumol (1) towards all types of tested breast cancer cells. Double biotinylated xanthohumol (3) proved to be the most active in inhibiting cell growth, with IC50 values equal to 5.35 ± 1.5 μM for 4T1 and 8.03 ± 0.53 µM for MCF-7 cell lines. Compound 3 was also more active than 1 and 2 against liver cancer cells HepG2 (IC50 = 17.37 ± 5.1 μM), while the IC50 values for 1 and 2 were equal to 21.5 ± 2.7 and 22.1 ± 3.9 µM, respectively. 4‑O‑biotinylxanthohumol (2) was the second most active growth inhibitor, particularly with respect to MCF-7 (IC50 = 6.19 ± 1.7 μM) and 4T1 (IC50 = 6.64 ± 0.4 μM) cell lines. Our preliminary study on biotinylated xanthohumol (1) have shown that this type of functionalization is an effective method for the production of active biomolecules and study on this area should be continued thereby extending their applications.

Topics: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; BALB 3T3 Cells; Biotinylation; Breast Neoplasms; Cell Proliferation; Cell Survival; Female; Flavonoids; Hep G2 Cells; Humans; Liver Neoplasms; MCF-7 Cells; Mice; Propiophenones

Topics: Antineoplastic Agents; Apoptosis; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular; Cell Cycle; Cell Proliferation; Colonic Neoplasms; Flavonoids; HCT116 Cells; Hep G2 Cells; HT29 Cells; Humans; Liver Neoplasms; Propiophenones

Xanthohumol may prevent and cure diabetes and atherosis, have oxidation resistance and antiviral function as well as anticancer effect preventing cancer cell metastasis. We investigate whether the anticancer effect of xanthohumol induces growth inhibition and apoptosis of human liver cancer through NF-κB/p53-apoptosis signaling pathway. Human liver cancer HepG2 cell were treated with 10, 20, 30 and 40 µM xanthohumol for 48 h. The present study showed that the anticancer effect of xanthohumol was effective in inhibiting proliferation and inducing apoptosis of human liver cancer HepG2 cells. Furthermore, the caspase-3 activity of human liver cancer HepG2 cells was increased by xanthohumol. In addition, 48-h treatment with xanthohumol suppressed NF-κB expression and promoted p53, cleaved PARP, AIF and cytochrome c expression and downregulated XIAP and Bcl-2/Bax expression in human liver cancer HepG2 cells. Therefore, the anticancer effect of xanthohumol induces growth inhibition and apoptosis of human liver cancer through the NF-κB/p53-apoptosis signaling pathway.

Topics: Apoptosis; Blotting, Western; Cell Proliferation; Flavonoids; Hep G2 Cells; Humans; Liver Neoplasms; NF-kappa B; Propiophenones; Signal Transduction; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53

Despite improvement in therapeutic strategies, median survival in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains less than one year. Therefore, molecularly targeted compounds with less toxic profiles are needed. Xanthohumol (XN), a prenylated chalcone has been shown to have anti-proliferative effects in various cancers types in vitro. XN treatment in healthy mice and humans yielded favorable pharmacokinetics and bioavailability. Therefore, we determined to study the effects of XN and understand the mechanism of its action in HCC. The effects of XN on a panel of HCC cell lines were assessed for cell viability, colony forming ability, and cellular proliferation. Cell lysates were analyzed for pro-apoptotic (c-PARP and cleaved caspase-3) and anti-apoptotic markers (survivin, cyclin D1, and Mcl-1). XN concentrations of 5 μM and above significantly reduced the cell viability, colony forming ability and also confluency of all four HCC cell lines studied. Furthermore, growth suppression due to apoptosis was evidenced by increased expression of pro-apoptotic and reduced expression of anti-apoptotic proteins. Importantly, XN treatment inhibited the Notch signaling pathway as evidenced by the decrease in the expression of Notch1 and HES-1 proteins. Ectopic expression of Notch1 in HCC cells reverses the anti-proliferative effect of XN as evidenced by reduced growth suppression compared to control. Taken together these results suggested that XN mediated growth suppression is appeared to be mediated by the inhibition of the Notch signaling pathway. Therefore, our findings warrants further studies on XN as a potential agent for the treatment for HCC.

Topics: Apoptosis; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Proliferation; Cell Survival; Flavonoids; Humans; Liver Neoplasms; Propiophenones; Receptors, Notch; Signal Transduction; Tumor Stem Cell Assay

Xanthohumol (XN) is the major prenylated chalcone of hops and hence an ingredient of beer. Despite many advances in understanding of the pharmacology of XN, one largely unresolved issue is its low bioavailability in the human organism. Also, not much is known about its actual concentrations and pharmacokinetics in liver and intestinal cells. Therefore, the uptake, intracellular distribution, and kinetics of XN were studied in various cell types, namely, hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HuH-7), hepatic stellate cells (HSC), primary cultured hepatocytes, and colorectal adenocarcinoma cells (Caco-2). Fluorescent microscopy allowed for the first time visualization and tracing of the uptake and intracellular distribution of XN. A rapid accumulation of XN concentrations that were up to >60-fold higher than the concentration present in the ambient culture medium was observed. Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching experiments revealed that most XN molecules are bound to cellular proteins, which may alter properties of cellular factors.

Topics: Biological Availability; Caco-2 Cells; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular; Cell Line, Tumor; Cells, Cultured; Flavonoids; Hepatic Stellate Cells; Hepatocytes; Humans; Humulus; Intestinal Mucosa; Kinetics; Liver Neoplasms; Propiophenones

Xanthohumol, the major prenylated chalcone found in hops, is well known to exert anti-cancer effects, but information regarding the impact on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells and potential adverse effects on non-tumorous hepatocytes is limited. Here, we show that xanthohumol at a concentration of 25 microM induced apoptosis in two HCC cell lines (HepG2 and Huh7). Furthermore, xanthohumol repressed proliferation and migration, as well as TNF induced NF-kappaB activity and interleukin-8 expression in both cell lines at even lower concentrations. In contrast, xanthohumol concentrations up to 100 microM did not affect viability of primary human hepatocytes in vitro. In summary, our data showed that xanthohumol can ameliorate different pro-tumorigenic mechanisms known to promote HCC progression, indicating its potential as promising therapeutic agent that selectively affects cancer cells.

Topics: Antineoplastic Agents; Apoptosis; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular; Cell Movement; Cell Proliferation; Cell Survival; Flavonoids; Humans; Humulus; Interleukin-8; Liver Neoplasms; Propiophenones; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

Xanthohumol (XN) is a hop derived prenylated flavonoid contained in beer. Earlier findings indicated that it has promising chemopreventive properties and protects cells against DNA damage by carcinogens via inhibition of their activation. Furthermore, it was found that XN inhibits DNA synthesis and proliferation of cancer cells in vitro, inactivates oxygen radicals and induces apoptosis. Since evidence for its chemoprotective properties is restricted to results from in vitro experiments, we monitored the impact of XN on the formation of amino-3-methyl-imidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ)-induced preneoplastic foci in livers and colons of rats (9/group). Additionally, we studied its effects on IQ-induced DNA damage in colonocytes and hepatocytes in single cell gel electrophoresis assays and on the activities of a panel of drug metabolising enzymes. Consumption of the drinking water supplemented with XN (71 microg/kg b.w.) before and during carcinogen treatment led to a significant reduction of the number of GST-p+ foci in the liver by 50% and also to a decrease of the foci area by 44%. DNA migration was decreased significantly in both, colon mucosa and liver cells, but no alterations of the activities of different phases I and II enzymes were found in hepatic tissue. Our findings indicate that XN protects against DNA damage and cancer induced by the cooked food mutagen. Since the effects were observed with low doses of XN which are reached after consumption of brews with high XN levels, our findings may be relevant for humans.

Topics: Animals; Carcinogens; Colon; Colonic Neoplasms; DNA Damage; Flavonoids; Liver; Liver Neoplasms; Male; Precancerous Conditions; Propiophenones; Quinolines; Rats; Rats, Inbred F344

Xanthohumol is the major prenylated flavonoid present in the hop plant Humulus lupulus L. (Cannabinaceae) and a common ingredient of beer. Recently, xanthohumol has gained considerable interest due to its potential cancer chemo-preventive effect. The aim of this study was to reveal the possible anti-genotoxic activity of xanthohumol in metabolically competent human hepatoma HepG2 cells, by use of the comet assay. Xanthohumol by itself was neither cytotoxic nor genotoxic to the cells at concentrations below 10microM. However, a significant protective effect against the pro-carcinogens benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) and 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoline (IQ) was observed at concentrations as low as 0.01microM. In cells treated with xanthohumol in combination with tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BOOH) - an inducer of reactive oxygen species (ROS) - no protective effect was observed and xanthohumol also showed no significant scavenging activity against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals. On the other hand, HepG2 cells pre-treated with xanthohumol showed significantly reduced levels of t-BOOH-induced DNA strand breaks, indicating that its protective effect is mediated by induction of cellular defence mechanisms against oxidative stress. As xanthohumol is known to be an effective inhibitor of cytochrome P450 enzymes and an inducer of NAD(P)H: quinone reductase (QR), our findings can be explained by an inhibition of metabolic activation of pro-carcinogens and/or by induction of carcinogen-detoxifying and anti-oxidative enzymes by xanthohumol. These results provide evidence that xanthohumol displays anti-genotoxic activity in metabolically competent human cells.

Topics: Antimutagenic Agents; Benzo(a)pyrene; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular; Comet Assay; Cytoprotection; DNA Damage; Flavonoids; Humans; Liver Neoplasms; Mutagens; Propiophenones; Quinolines; Reactive Oxygen Species; tert-Butylhydroperoxide; Tumor Cells, Cultured