Aim: This study investigated the anti-cancer effect of combined quercetin and a recombinant adenovirus vector expressing the human p53, GM-CSF and B7-1 genes (designated BB-102) on human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines in vitro.
Methods: The sensitivity of HCC cells to anticancer agents was evaluated by 3-(4,5- dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The viability of cells infected with BB-102 was determined by trypan blue exclusion. The expression levels of human wild-type p53, GM-CSF and B7-1 genes were determined by Western blot, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and flow cytometric analysis, respectively. The apoptosis of BB-102-infected or quercetin-treated HCC cells was detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) assay or DNA ladder electrophoresis.
Results: Quercetin was found to suppress proliferation of human HCC cell lines BEL-7402, HuH-7 and HLE, with peak suppression at 50 micromol/L quercetin. BB-102 infection was also found to significantly suppress proliferation of HCC cell lines. The apoptosis of BB-102-infected HCC cells was greater in HLE and HuH-7 cells than in BEL-7402 cells. Quercetin did not affect the expression of the three exogenous genes in BB-102-infected HCC cells (P>0.05), but it was found to further decrease proliferation and promote apoptosis of BB-102-infected HCC cells.
Conclusion: BB-102 and quercetin synergetically suppress HCC cell proliferation and induce HCC cell apoptosis, suggesting a possible use as a combined anti-cancer agent.