Aspergillumarin A Inhibits Cell Proliferation by Inducing G0/G1 Phase Arrest in HepG2 Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cells

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the principle histologic type of liver cancer, is one of the leading causes of cancer related deaths globally. The prognosis of HCC is poor, and novel therapeutic strategies are urgently needed. Aspergillumarin A is a dihydroisocoumarin derivative isolated from endophytic fungus in the roots of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. f. in our previous study, and its activities were largely unknown. In this study, it was found that the proliferation of HepG2 HCC cells was significant inhibited by the incubation with aspergillumarin A at 200 μmol/L. Using flow cytometry, the cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase was found to contribute to the inhibitory effect of aspergillumarin A. Further, the dysregulation of cyclins was observed in the results of realtime PCR and western blotting. Taken together, Aspergillumarin A inhibited HCC cell proliferation by inducing cell cycle arrest at G0/G1 phase, indicating aspergillumarin A as a novel agent candidate for HCC therapy.