Department of Pathology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Institute of Medical Sciences, National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Cancer Gene Ther. 2024 Jan;31(1):148-157. doi: 10.1038/s41417-023-00690-3. Epub 2023 Nov 20.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a primary liver cancer with a high mortality rate that requires research and improved treatment strategies. Chemotherapy is still one of the main methods of HCC treatment, but it may lead to drug resistance and damage to normal organs. Capsaicin, a naturally occurring active ingredient in chili peppers, has demonstrated anticancer properties in a variety of malignant tumor cell lines. However, the anti-cancer mechanism of capsaicin needs to be further explored in HCC. In this study, we utilized Arvanil, a non-stimulating synthetic capsaicin analog, in place of capsaicin. We found that Arvanil induced high mitochondrial calcium flow, which contributed to a decrease in mitochondrial membrane permeability transition pore (mPTP) opening and oxidative phosphorylation levels, ultimately triggering cellular ferroptosis by live cells in real time with a high content screening (HCS) platform and confocal microscopy. It was further confirmed by vina molecular docking and point mutation experiments that Arvanil directly binds to two amino acid sites of mitochondrial calcium uptake protein 1 (MICU1), namely Ser47 and Phe128, to trigger this process, which in turn inhibits the growth of HCC cells. In addition, it was confirmed that Arvanil enhances cisplatin chemosensitivity by inducing HCC cellular ferroptosis in vivo. In conclusion, our study suggests that Arvanil induces ferroptosis in HCC cells and is a candidate drug for the treatment of HCC.
肝细胞癌 (HCC) 是一种高死亡率的原发性肝癌,需要研究和改进治疗策略。化疗仍然是 HCC 治疗的主要方法之一,但它可能导致耐药性和正常器官损伤。辣椒素是辣椒中的一种天然活性成分,已在多种恶性肿瘤细胞系中表现出抗癌特性。然而,辣椒素的抗癌机制在 HCC 中仍需要进一步探索。在这项研究中,我们使用了非刺激性合成辣椒素类似物 Arvanil 代替辣椒素。我们发现 Arvanil 诱导了高线粒体钙流,这有助于降低线粒体膜通透性转换孔 (mPTP) 的开放和氧化磷酸化水平,最终通过高内涵筛选 (HCS) 平台和共聚焦显微镜实时触发细胞铁死亡。通过 vin a 分子对接和点突变实验进一步证实,Arvanil 直接结合线粒体钙摄取蛋白 1 (MICU1) 的两个氨基酸位点 Ser47 和 Phe128,触发这一过程,进而抑制 HCC 细胞的生长。此外,还证实 Arvanil 通过诱导 HCC 细胞铁死亡来增强顺铂的化疗敏感性。总之,我们的研究表明,Arvanil 诱导 HCC 细胞发生铁死亡,是治疗 HCC 的候选药物。