Cytotoxic Effect of Thymoquinone-Loaded Nanostructured Lipid Carrier (TQ-NLC) on Liver Cancer Cell Integrated with Hepatitis B Genome, Hep3B

• Published in: Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine Vol. 2018; no. 2018; pp. 1 - 13
• Main Authors: Alexander, Henna Roshini, Ong, Yong Sze, Abd Razak, Rohaina, Saiful Yazan, Latifah, Syed Alwi, Sharifah Sakinah, Haron, Aminah Suhaila, Zakarial Ansar, Fatin Hanani
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cairo, Egypt Hindawi Publishing Corporation 01-01-2018; Hindawi; John Wiley & Sons, Inc; Hindawi Limited
• Subjects: Annexin V; Antioxidants; Apoptosis; Bioactive compounds; Bioavailability; Biochemistry; Breast cancer; Cancer; Cancer therapies; Cell cycle; Cell growth; Chemotherapy; Cytotoxicity; Disease; Drug delivery systems; Drugs; Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid; Genetic aspects; Genomes; Genomics; Hepatitis; Hepatitis B; Hepatocytes; Lipids; Lipophilicity; Liver; Liver cancer; Lymphocytes B; Natural products; Oxidative stress; Proteins; Signal transduction; Vehicles; Malaysia
• ISSN: 1741-427X; 1741-4288
• DOI: 10.1155/2018/1549805

Thymoquinone (TQ), a bioactive compound found in Nigella sativa, cannot be orally consumed due to its lipophilicity. In order to overcome this low bioavailability, TQ is loaded into a colloidal drug carrier known as a nanostructured lipid carrier (NLC). This study aims to determine the antiproliferative effects of TQ and TQ-NLC on liver cancer cells integrated with the hepatitis B genome, Hep3B. The Hep3B was treated with TQ or TQ-NLC for 24, 48, and 72 hours via MTT assay. The results confirm that TQ or TQ-NLC inhibited the growth of Hep3B at IC50 <16.7 μM for 72 hours. TQ was also found to induce cell cycle arrest at the G1 checkpoint while TQ-NLC induced non-phase-specific cell cycle arrest. Further analysis using Annexin V staining confirmed the apoptotic induction of TQ or TQ-NLC via activation of caspases-3/7. In ROS management, TQ acted as a prooxidant (increased the level of ROS), while TQ-NLC acted as an antioxidant (reduced the level of ROS). Molecular analysis demonstrated that the GSH system and the Nrf2/Keap1 signaling pathway in Hep3B influenced the differential responses of the cells towards TQ or TQ-NLC. Hence, this study demonstrated that TQ and TQ-NLC have in vitro anticancer effects on the Hep3B.