Role of NLRP3 inflammasome activation in HCC cell progression

Bingling Dai; Hanbing Cao; Yu Hu; Zhengyan Gong; Xiaoyue Huang; Yanbin Chen; Feng Liu; Xiujuan Peng; Yanmin Zhang; Xinjun Lei

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19542

Role of NLRP3 inflammasome activation in HCC cell progression

Heliyon. 2023 Aug 26;9(9):e19542. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19542. eCollection 2023 Sep.

Authors

Bingling Dai^{1

2}, Hanbing Cao^{1

2}, Yu Hu^{1

2}, Zhengyan Gong^{1

2}, Xiaoyue Huang^{1

2}, Yanbin Chen^{1

3

4}, Feng Liu^{3

4}, Xiujuan Peng^{1

3

4}, Yanmin Zhang^{1

2}, Xinjun Lei⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Pharmacy, Health Science Center, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, PR China.
² State Key Laboratory of Shaanxi for Natural Medicines Research and Engineering, Xi'an, 710061, PR China.
³ Shaanxi Institute of International Trade & Commerce, Xianyang 712046, PR China.
⁴ Shaanxi Buchang Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd, Xi'an 710075, China.
⁵ Department of Cardiology, First affiliated hospital, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, PR China.

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a globally prevalent and fatal malignancy worldwide, and identifying therapeutic strategies is time-consuming. Numerous reports have suggested the involvement of the NLRP3 inflammasome in the progression of various cancers. However, the detailed mechanisms underlying the role of NLRP3 inflammasome in HCC progression remain unclear. In this study, we observed low expression levels of the NLRP3 inflammasome in a subset of HCC cells. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the NLRP3 inflammasome can be activated by LPS + ATP through the nuclear factor kappa B signaling pathway, as confirmed by western blotting and immunofluorescence staining. To assess the impact of NLRP3 inflammasome activation on HCC cell behavior, we employed Edu staining, cell cycle assay, Annexin V/PI staining, and wound healing assay. Our results revealed that NLRP3 inflammasome activation inhibited the proliferation of Bel-7402 and SMMC-7721 cells, arrested the cell cycle at the G1 phase, and suppressed cell migration, while apoptosis remained unaffected. In summary, our findings suggest that targeting the NLRP3 inflammasome could have therapeutic potential for HCC.

Keywords: HCC cells; Migration; NF-κB; NLRP3 inflammasome; Proliferation.