Combination of Zizyphus jujuba and Green Tea Extracts Exerts Excellent Cytotoxic Activity in HepG2 Cells via Reducing the Expression of APRIL

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma is a type of tumor highly resistant to available chemotherapeutic agents. The treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma remains a challenge that needs new approaches in the future. In a previous study, we demonstrated that the chloroform fraction (CHCl₃-F) from Z. jujuba has anticancer activity in human liver cancer cells (HepG2), and that combining CHCl₃-F with green tea extracts (GTE) results in enhanced effects of anticancer activity in the cells. To further understand the mechanism of the anticancer activity of combining CHCl₃-F and GTE in HepG2 cells, we investigated whether the addition of a mixture of CHCl₃-F and GTE would affect the expression of APRIL (a proliferation-inducing ligand), which was expressed in HepG2 cells from 4 hours of incubation in vitro. We have shown that CHCl₃-F and GTE enhanced anti-cancer activity by reducing the expression of APRIL. We speculate that the CHCl₃-F and GTE mixture might provide a lead to a new drug design to treat hepatocellular carcinoma in the future.