Fermented wheat germ extract induced cell death and enhanced cytotoxicity of Cisplatin and 5-Fluorouracil on human hepatocellular carcinoma cells.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common causes of cancer-related death worldwide. Due to the difficulties of early diagnosis, curative treatments are not available for most patients. Palliative treatments such as chemotherapy are often associated with low response rate, strong adverse effects and limited clinical benefits for patients. The alternative approaches such as fermented wheat germ extract (FWGE) with anti-tumor efficacy may provide improvements in the clinical outcome of current therapy for HCC. This study aimed to clarify antitumor efficacy of FWGE and the combination drug effect of FWGE with chemotherapeutic agents, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu) in human HCC cells, HepG2, Hep3B, and HepJ5. The present study indicated that FWGE exhibited potential to suppress HepG2, Hep3B, and HepJ5 cells, with the half maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of FWGE were 0.494, 0.371 and 1.524 mg/mL, respectively. FWGE also induced Poly (Adenosine diphosphate ribose) polymerase (PARP) associated cell death in Hep3B cells. Moreover, the FWGE treatment further enhanced the cytotoxicity of cisplatin in all tested HCC cells, and cytotoxicity of 5-Fu in a synergistic manner in HepJ5 cells. Collectively, the results identified the anti-tumor efficacy of FWGE in HCC cells and suggested that FWGE can be used as a supplement to effectively improve the tumor suppression efficiency of cisplatin and 5-Fu in HCC cells.
Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei 110, Taiwan ; Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan.
Cheng-Jeng
CJ
Tai
Department of General Surgery, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan 710, Taiwan.
Wen-Ching
WC
Wang
Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei 110, Taiwan ; Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan ; Department of Chinese Medicine, Taipei Medical University Hospital, 252 Wu Hsing Street, Taipei 110, Taiwan ; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan.
Chien-Kai
CK
Wang
Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan ; Center of Excellence for Cancer Research, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan ; Department of Surgery, Taipei Medical University-Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei 235, Taiwan.
Chih-Hsiung
CH
Wu
Department of Surgery, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 404, Taiwan.
Mei-Due
MD
Yang
Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan ; Department of Surgery, Taipei Medical University and Hospital, Taipei 110, Taiwan ; Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan.
Yu-Jia
YJ
Chang
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan.
Jiun-Yu
JY
Jian
Department of Chinese Medicine, Taipei Medical University Hospital, 252 Wu Hsing Street, Taipei 110, Taiwan ; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan ; Traditional Herbal Medicine Research Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan.
Chen-Jei
CJ
Tai