TY - JOUR AB - Casticin exerts anticarcinogenic activity in several types of cancers, including human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of casticin, which is derived from Fructus Viticis Simplicifoliae, on the self‑renewal capacity of liver cancer stem cells (LCSCs) derived from the HCC MHCC97 cell line. The present study demonstrated that casticin significantly inhibited the proliferation of LCSCs from the MHCC97 cell line in a dose‑dependent manner (P<0.05), the half maximal inhibitory concentration of the parental cells and LCSCs was 17.9 and 0.5 µmol̸l, respectively. Furthermore, casticin reduced the sphere‑forming capacity of LCSCs and downregulated β‑catenin protein expression in a concentration‑dependent manner. Lithium chloride, an agonist known to activate the Wnt̸β‑catenin signaling pathway, attenuated the casticin‑induced downregulation of β‑catenin protein expression and inhibited the self‑renewal capacity. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first to demonstrate that casticin effectively eradicates LCSCs and β‑catenin was identified as the potential target. Thus, casticin may offer a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of HCC. AD - Department of Oncology, First Affiliated Hospital of University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan 421001, P.R. China Medical College, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, Hunan 410013, P.R. China Department of Oncology, First Affiliated Hospital of University of South China, Hengyang, Hunan 421001, P.R. China AU - He,Guicheng AU - Cao,Xiaocheng AU - He,Meng AU - Sheng,Xifeng AU - Wu,Youhua AU - Ai,Xiaohong DA - 2014/06/01 DO - 10.3892/ol.2014.1972 EP - 2028 IS - 6 JO - Oncol Lett KW - hepatocellular carcinoma cancer stem cells casticin self-renewal β-catenin PY - 2014 SN - 1792-1074 1792-1082 SP - 2023 ST - Casticin inhibits self-renewal of liver cancer stem cells from the MHCC97 cell line T2 - Oncology Letters TI - Casticin inhibits self-renewal of liver cancer stem cells from the MHCC97 cell line UR - https://doi.org/10.3892/ol.2014.1972 VL - 7 ER -