Quercetin induces HepG2 cell apoptosis by inhibiting fatty acid biosynthesis

Zhao,Peng; Mao,Jun‑Min; Zhang,Shu‑Yun; Zhou,Ze‑Quan; Tan,Yang; Zhang,Yu

doi:10.3892/ol.2014.2159

Quercetin induces HepG2 cell apoptosis by inhibiting fatty acid biosynthesis

Authors:
- Peng Zhao
- Jun‑Min Mao
- Shu‑Yun Zhang
- Ze‑Quan Zhou
- Yang Tan
- Yu Zhang
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Affiliations: Health Management Center, Hangzhou Sanatorium of PLA, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310007, P.R. China, Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hangzhou Sanatorium of PLA, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310007, P.R. China, Department of Clinical Laboratory, Hangzhou Sanatorium of PLA, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310007, P.R. China
Published online on: May 19, 2014 https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2014.2159
Pages: 765-769

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Abstract

Quercetin can inhibit the growth of cancer cells with the ability to act as a ‘chemopreventer’. Its cancer‑preventive effect has been attributed to various mechanisms, including the induction of cell‑cycle arrest and/or apoptosis, as well as its antioxidant functions. Quercetin can also reduce adipogenesis. Previous studies have shown that quercetin has potent inhibitory effects on animal fatty acid synthase (FASN). In the present study, activity of quercetin was evaluated in human liver cancer HepG2 cells. Intracellular FASN activity was calculated by measuring the absorption of NADPH via a spectrophotometer. MTT assay was used to test the cell viability, immunoblot analysis was performed to detect FASN expression levels and the apoptotic effect was detected by Hoechst 33258 staining. In the present study, it was found that quercetin could induce apoptosis in human liver cancer HepG2 cells with overexpression of FASN. This apoptosis was accompanied by the reduction of intracellular FASN activity and could be rescued by 25 or 50 µM exogenous palmitic acids, the final product of FASN‑catalyzed synthesis. These results suggested that the apoptosis induced by quercetin was via the inhibition of FASN. These findings suggested that quercetin may be useful for preventing human liver cancer.

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