RESUMO
This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and a novel curcumin derivative (NCD) on HepG2 cells (hepatoma cell line) and to investigate their effect on Notch1 signaling pathway target genes. HepG2 cells were divided into HepG2 control group, HepG2 cells treated with MSC conditioned medium (MSCs CM), HepG2 cells treated with a NCD, HepG2 cells treated with MSCs CM and NCD, and HepG2 cells treated with MSCs CM (CM of MSCs pretreated with a NCD). Expression of Notch1, Hes1, VEGF, and cyclin D1 was assessed by real-time, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in HepG2 cells. In addition, HepG2 proliferation assay was performed in all groups. Notch1 and its target genes (Hes1 and cyclin D1) were downregulated in all treated groups with more suppressive effect in the groups treated with both MSCs and NCD. Also, treated HepG2 cells showed significant decrease in cell proliferation rate. These data suggest that modulation of Notch1 signaling pathway by MSCs and/or NCD can be considered as a therapeutic target in HCC.
