Simvastatin inhibits cell growth and induces apoptosis and G0/G1 cell cycle arrest in hepatic cancer cells.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of major health concerns worldwide and one of leading causes of cancer death after lung and gastric cancers. Simvastatin is a cholesterol-lowering drug which inhibits 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutarylcoenzyme CoA (HMG-CoA) reductase. Simvastatin exhibits numerous pleiotropic effects including anti-cancer activity. Yet, the anticancer effects in HCC remain poorly characterized. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effects of simvastatin on tumor cell growth, apoptosis and cell cycle. HepG2 and Huh7 cell lines were treated with simvastatin (32 and 64 µM) for different time periods. Tumor cell growth was assessed using MTT assay. Apoptosis and cell cycle analysis were also evaluated. Analysis of cell cycle proteins involved in simvastatin-induced manipulation was performed by Western blot and quantitative RT-PCR analyses. Simvastatin induced a reduction of tumor cell growth. In both cell lines, simvastatin induced apoptosis and impaired cell cycle progression as depicted by the greater rates of G0/G1-phase cells than the rates of S-phase cells. Protein expression levels of cell cycle regulating proteins CDK1, CDK2, CDK4, cyclin D1, cyclin E, p19 and p27 were markedly altered by simvastatin. Moreover, CDC2, CCND1 and CDCN2D mRNA expressions were also altered by drug treatment. Collectively, these results suggest that simvastatin induces apoptosis in tumor cells and its anti-proliferative activity was accompanied by inhibition of cyclin-dependent kinases and cyclins, whereas CDK inhibitors p19 and p27 were enhanced. These results may provide novel insights into simvastatin tumor-suppressive action.
Relja
Borna
B
Department of Trauma Surgery, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. info@bornarelja.com
Meder
Frank
F
Wilhelm
Kerstin
K
Henrich
Dirk
D
Marzi
Ingo
I
Lehnert
Mark
M
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016193:G1 Phase / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D016192:Resting Phase, Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D019821:Simvastatin / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D019821:Simvastatin