β-Dihydroartemisinin-Emodin Promotes Apoptosis by Activating Extrinsic and Intrinsic Pathways in Human Liver Cancer Cells

Natural products isolated from Chinese herbs are promising anticancer therapeutic agents. In the current study, we explored the anticancer effect of a novel drug compound, β-dihydroartemisinin-emodin (β-DHA-emodin), on human liver cancer HepG-2 cells. The drug showed high suppressive activity against the proliferation of HepG-2 cells by inhibiting Ki-67 expression. β-DHA-emodin treatment increased the apoptotic ratio of HepG-2 cells by preventing cell cycle progression from the G1 phase to the S phase. Cells treated with β-DHA-emodin showed typical apoptotic morphological changes. β-DHA-emodin also upregulated the expression of caspase-3/8/9 and Bax and downregulated the expression of Bcl-2. β-DHA-emodin inhibited HepG-2 migration by decreasing the expression of Survivin. These results indicate that β-DHA-emodin may be an efficacious apoptotic inducer in HepG-2 cells.