title: Investigation of quercetin-induced HepG2 cell apoptosis-associated cellular biophysical alterations by atomic force microscopy.
abstract: Quercetin, a wildly distributed bioflavonoid, has been proved to possess excellent antitumor activity on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In the present study, the biophysical properties of HepG2 cells were qualitatively and quantitatively determined using high resolution atomic force microscopy (AFM) to understand the anticancer effects of quercetin on HCC cells at nanoscale. The results showed that quercetin could induce severe apoptosis in HepG2 cells through arrest of cell cycle and disruption of mitochondria membrane potential. Additionally, the nuclei and F-actin structures of HepG2 cells were destroyed by quercetin treatment as well. AFM morphological data showed some typical apoptotic characterization of HepG2 cells with increased particle size and roughness in the ultrastructure of cell surface upon quercetin treatment. As an important biophysical property of cells, the membrane stiffness of HepG2 cells was further quantified by AFM force measurements, which indicated that HepG2 cells became much stiffer after quercetin treatment. These results collectively suggest that quercetin can be served as a potential therapeutic agent for HCC, which not only extends our understanding of the anticancer effects of quercetin against HCC cells into nanoscale, but also highlights the applications of AFM for the investigation of anticancer drugs.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China.
authors.forename: Jiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pi
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Baole
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Lvying
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tu
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Haiyan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China.
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China.
authors.forename: Fen
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Haihua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Huaihong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China.|Department of Chemistry, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jiye
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cai
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000633:toxicity*; D017209:Apoptosis; D055592:Biophysical Phenomena; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure; D056945:Hep G2 Cells; D022781:Hepatocytes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D051336:Mitochondrial Membranes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D011794:Quercetin / Q000633:toxicity*; D013499:Surface Properties / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D000975:Antioxidants; D011794:Quercetin
keywords: apoptosis; atomic force microscopy; biophysical property; quercetin