Open Access

The compound 2‑benzylthio‑5,8‑dimethoxynaphthalene‑1,4‑dione leads to apoptotic cell death by increasing the cellular reactive oxygen species levels in Ras‑mutated liver cancer cells

  • Authors:
    • Gui-Nan Shen
    • Jing Li
    • Ying-Hua Jin
    • Hu-Nan Sun
    • Ying-Ying Hao
    • Mei-Hua Jin
    • Ren Liu
    • Wei-Long Li
    • Yong-Qing Zhang
    • Jia-Bin Yu
    • Nan-Nan Yu
    • Wei-Dong Wang
    • Li-Yun Yu
    • Ji-Su Kim
    • Taeho Kwon
    • Ying-Hao Han
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: September 11, 2020     https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2020.9209
  • Article Number: 82
  • Copyright: © Shen et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

The aim of the present study was to verify the pro‑apoptotic anticancer potential of several 5,8‑dimethoxy‑1,4‑phthoquinone (DMNQ) derivatives in Ras‑mediated tumorigenesis. MTT assays were used to detect cellular viability and flow cytometry was performed to assess intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and apoptosis. The expression levels of proteins were detected via western blotting. Among the 12 newly synthesized DMNQ derivatives, 2‑benzylthio‑5,8‑dimethoxynaphthalene‑1,4‑dione (BZNQ; component #1) significantly reduced cell viability both in mouse NIH3T3 embryonic fibroblasts cells (NC) and H‑RasG12V transfected mouse NIH3T3 embryonic fibroblasts cells (NR). Moreover, BZNQ resulted in increased cytotoxic sensitivity in Ras‑mutant transfected cells. Furthermore, the reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in H‑RasG12V transfected HepG2 liver cancer cells (HR) were significantly higher compared with the levels in HepG2 liver cancer cells (HC) following BZNQ treatment, which further resulted in increased cellular apoptosis. Eliminating cellular ROS using an ROS scavenger N‑acetyl‑L‑cysteine markedly reversed BZNQ‑induced cellular ROS accumulation and cell apoptosis in HC and HR cells. Western blotting results revealed that BZNQ significantly downregulated H‑Ras protein expression and inhibited the Ras‑mediated downstream signaling pathways such as protein kinase B, extracellular signal‑related kinase and glycogen synthase kinase phosphorylation and β‑catenin protein expression. These results indicated that the novel DMNQ derivative BZNQ may be a therapeutic drug for Ras‑mediated liver tumorigenesis. The results of the current study suggest that BZNQ exerts its effect by downregulating H‑Ras protein expression and Ras‑mediated signaling pathways.
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November-2020
Volume 20 Issue 5

Print ISSN: 1792-0981
Online ISSN:1792-1015

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Spandidos Publications style
Shen G, Li J, Jin Y, Sun H, Hao Y, Jin M, Liu R, Li W, Zhang Y, Yu J, Yu J, et al: The compound 2‑benzylthio‑5,8‑dimethoxynaphthalene‑1,4‑dione leads to apoptotic cell death by increasing the cellular reactive oxygen species levels in Ras‑mutated liver cancer cells. Exp Ther Med 20: 82, 2020
APA
Shen, G., Li, J., Jin, Y., Sun, H., Hao, Y., Jin, M. ... Han, Y. (2020). The compound 2‑benzylthio‑5,8‑dimethoxynaphthalene‑1,4‑dione leads to apoptotic cell death by increasing the cellular reactive oxygen species levels in Ras‑mutated liver cancer cells. Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, 20, 82. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2020.9209
MLA
Shen, G., Li, J., Jin, Y., Sun, H., Hao, Y., Jin, M., Liu, R., Li, W., Zhang, Y., Yu, J., Yu, N., Wang, W., Yu, L., Kim, J., Kwon, T., Han, Y."The compound 2‑benzylthio‑5,8‑dimethoxynaphthalene‑1,4‑dione leads to apoptotic cell death by increasing the cellular reactive oxygen species levels in Ras‑mutated liver cancer cells". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 20.5 (2020): 82.
Chicago
Shen, G., Li, J., Jin, Y., Sun, H., Hao, Y., Jin, M., Liu, R., Li, W., Zhang, Y., Yu, J., Yu, N., Wang, W., Yu, L., Kim, J., Kwon, T., Han, Y."The compound 2‑benzylthio‑5,8‑dimethoxynaphthalene‑1,4‑dione leads to apoptotic cell death by increasing the cellular reactive oxygen species levels in Ras‑mutated liver cancer cells". Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine 20, no. 5 (2020): 82. https://doi.org/10.3892/etm.2020.9209