The MOE Basic Research and Innovation Center for the Targeted Therapeutics of Solid Tumors, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China.
Shanxi Academy of Advanced Research and Innovation, Taiyuan 030032, China.
Biomolecules. 2024 Nov 5;14(11):1407. doi: 10.3390/biom14111407.
Ferroptosis, a recently elucidated style of regulated cell death, has emerged as a significant area of investigation in cancer biology. Natural active compounds that have anti-cancer effects are promising candidates for cancer prevention. Iberverin, a natural compound derived from var. , has been shown to exert anti-tumor activities in some cancers. However, its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells and the molecular mechanisms are still poorly understood. In this study, we proved that iberverin can induce intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation to inhibit cell proliferation and initiate ferroptotic cell death in HCC cells, which can be eradicated by the ferroptosis inhibitor ferrostatin-1 (Fer-1) or deferoxamine mesylate (DFO) and ROS scavenger (GSH or NAC). Mechanistically, iberverin treatment can simultaneously downregulate mRNA level and degrade GPX4 through the ubiquitination pathway, leading to lipid peroxidation and ferroptotic cell death in HCC cells. Significantly, a low dose of iberverin can remarkably increase the sensitivity of HCC cells to ferroptosis induced by canonical ferroptosis inducers RSL3 and imidazole ketone erastin (IKE). This study uncovers a critical function of iberverin in preventing HCC through ferroptosis and provides a promising strategy for HCC treatment either via iberverin alone or in combination with canonical ferroptosis inducers in the future.
铁死亡是一种新近阐明的细胞程序性死亡方式,已成为癌症生物学研究的一个重要领域。具有抗癌作用的天然活性化合物是癌症预防的有前途的候选物。来源于 var. 的天然化合物 Iberverin 已被证明在某些癌症中具有抗肿瘤活性。然而,其在肝细胞癌 (HCC) 细胞中的作用及其分子机制仍知之甚少。在本研究中,我们证明 Iberverin 可以诱导细胞内活性氧 (ROS) 的产生,从而抑制 HCC 细胞的增殖并引发铁死亡,这种铁死亡可以被铁死亡抑制剂 Fer-1 或甲磺酸去铁胺 (DFO) 和 ROS 清除剂 (GSH 或 NAC) 消除。在机制上,Iberverin 处理可以通过泛素化途径同时下调 mRNA 水平并降解 GPX4,导致 HCC 细胞中的脂质过氧化和铁死亡。值得注意的是,低剂量的 Iberverin 可以显著提高 HCC 细胞对经典铁死亡诱导剂 RSL3 和咪唑酮 Erastin (IKE) 诱导的铁死亡的敏感性。本研究揭示了 Iberverin 通过铁死亡预防 HCC 的关键作用,并为未来单独使用 Iberverin 或与经典铁死亡诱导剂联合治疗 HCC 提供了一种有前途的策略。