Quercetin induced HepG2 cells apoptosis through ATM/JNK/STAT3 signaling pathways

摘要

Liver cancer is the seventh most common malignant tumor in the world and is the second highest cause of death due to cancer.Quercetin,a flavonoid with low toxicity,widely exists in various fruits and vegetables.It has the potential to be a therapeutic agent against various cancers.This study aimed to demonstrate the anti-tumor effect of quercetin on HepG2 cells.Quercetin suppressed the HepG2 cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner in cell viability assay.Induction of cell apoptosis was confirmed by apoptotic cells population(sub-G1 peak)detected by flow cytometer.A decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential and caspase-3 activation were also demonstrated in this study.Furthermore,quercetin induced HepG2 cell apoptosis through ROS-mediated phosphorylated ataxia-telangiectasia mutated,c-Jun Nterminal kinases,signal transducer,and activator of transcription 3(STAT-3),and Bax signaling pathways.These results suggest that quercetin has the potential to become an effective drug against the tumor.