A Study of the Effect of Aspirin and Atorvastatin on the Phenotypes of Liver Cancer Cells in a Cell Culture Model

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: In patients with type 2 diabetes, liver diseases are the major causes of liver cancer. The invention of new methods and medicinal compounds has led to a significant increase in our ability to treat cancers. This study aims to evaluate the effect of two known compounds, atorvastatin and aspirin, on the phenotypes of liver cancer cell lines. METHODS: In this experimental study, after preparing HepG2 cell line from National Cell Bank of Iran and culturing it, the cytotoxic, apoptotic and metastatic effects of both atorvastatin and aspirin were investigated at concentrations of 50 – 100 – 200 μM in 7 treatment groups and one control group by MTT assay, flow cytometry and zymography tests. FINDINGS: The results of these tests indicated the cytotoxic effects of atorvastatin at all concentrations of 50 – 100 – 200 μM (48%, 99.96% and 100%), and the low cytotoxic effects of aspirin at all concentrations except for 200 μM, mainly observed as necrosis (p<0.05). In both compounds, apoptosis induction was initiated at a specific concentration and the simultaneous use of these two compounds increased the apoptosis from 6.8 and 3.22, respectively for atorvastatin and aspirin, to 20.22 (p < 0.05). Investigating the activity of the MMP-2 enzyme as a key enzyme in metastases indicated a decrease in this phenotype. CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that co-administration of both atorvastatin and aspirin compounds is capable of inducing programmed cell death at low concentrations.

Keywords

• Atorvastatin
• Aspirin
• Hepatocellular carcinoma
• Metastasis
• Matrix metalloproteinase