Objective To investigate whether sodium butyrate(NaB)and sorafenib synergistically induces ferroptosis to suppress proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma cells and the possible underlying mechanisms.Methods CCK8 assay and colony formation assay were used to assess the effects of NaB and sorafenib,alone or in combination,on proliferation of HepG2 cells,and ferroptosis of the treated cells was detected with GSH assay and C11-BODIPY 581/591 fluorescent probe.TCGA database was used to analyze differential YAP gene expression between liver cancer and normal tissues.The effects of NaB and sorafenib on YAP and p-YAP expressions in HepG2 cells were invesitigated using Western blotting.Results NaB(2 mmol/L)significantly reduced the IC50 of sorafenib in HepG2 cells,and combination index analysis confirmed the synergy between sorafenib and NaB.The ferroptosis inhibitor Fer-1 and the YAP activator(XMU)obviously reversed the growth-inhibitory effects of the combined treatment with NaB and sorafenib in HepG2 cells.The combined treatment with NaB and sorafenib,as compared with the two agents used alone,significantly inhibited colony formation of HepG2 cells,further enhanced cellular shrinkage and dispersion,and decreased intracellular GSH and lipid ROS levels,and these effects were reversed by Fer-1 and XMU.TCGA analysis revealed a higher YAP mRNA expression in liver cancer tissues than in normal liver tissues.NaB combined with sorafenib produced significantly stronger effects than the individual agents for downregulating YAP protein expression and upregulating YAP phosphorylation level in HepG2 cells.Conclusion NaB combined with sorafenib synergistically inhibit hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation possibly by inducing ferroptosis via inhibiting YAP expression.

Objective To investigate whether sodium butyrate(NaB)and sorafenib synergistically induces ferroptosis to suppress proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma cells and the possible underlying mechanisms.Methods CCK8 assay and colony formation assay were used to assess the effects of NaB and sorafenib,alone or in combination,on proliferation of HepG2 cells,and ferroptosis of the treated cells was detected with GSH assay and C11-BODIPY 581/591 fluorescent probe.TCGA database was used to analyze differential YAP gene expression between liver cancer and normal tissues.The effects of NaB and sorafenib on YAP and p-YAP expressions in HepG2 cells were invesitigated using Western blotting.Results NaB(2 mmol/L)significantly reduced the IC50 of sorafenib in HepG2 cells,and combination index analysis confirmed the synergy between sorafenib and NaB.The ferroptosis inhibitor Fer-1 and the YAP activator(XMU)obviously reversed the growth-inhibitory effects of the combined treatment with NaB and sorafenib in HepG2 cells.The combined treatment with NaB and sorafenib,as compared with the two agents used alone,significantly inhibited colony formation of HepG2 cells,further enhanced cellular shrinkage and dispersion,and decreased intracellular GSH and lipid ROS levels,and these effects were reversed by Fer-1 and XMU.TCGA analysis revealed a higher YAP mRNA expression in liver cancer tissues than in normal liver tissues.NaB combined with sorafenib produced significantly stronger effects than the individual agents for downregulating YAP protein expression and upregulating YAP phosphorylation level in HepG2 cells.Conclusion NaB combined with sorafenib synergistically inhibit hepatocellular carcinoma cell proliferation possibly by inducing ferroptosis via inhibiting YAP expression.

Lymphatic metastasis is the main metastatic route for colorectal cancer, which increases the risk of cancer recurrence and distant metastasis. The properties of the lymph node metastatic colorectal cancer (LNM-CRC) cells are poorly understood, and effective therapies are still lacking. Here, we found that hypoxia-induced fibroblast activation protein alpha (FAPα) expression in LNM-CRC cells. Gain- or loss-function experiments demonstrated that FAPα enhanced tumor cell migration, invasion, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, stemness, and lymphangiogenesis via activation of the STAT3 pathway. In addition, FAPα in tumor cells induced extracellular matrix remodeling and established an immunosuppressive environment via recruiting regulatory T cells, to promote colorectal cancer lymph node metastasis (CRCLNM). Z-GP-DAVLBH, a FAPα-activated prodrug, inhibited CRCLNM by targeting FAPα-positive LNM-CRC cells. Our study highlights the role of FAPα in tumor cells in CRCLNM and provides a potential therapeutic target and promising strategy for CRCLNM.