Casticin inhibits self-renewal of liver cancer stem cells from the MHCC97 cell line

Casticin exerts anticarcinogenic activity in several types of cancers, including human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of casticin, which is derived from Fructus Viticis Simplicifoliae, on the self-renewal capacity of liver cancer stem cells (LCSCs) derived from the HCC MHCC97 cell line. The present study demonstrated that casticin significantly inhibited the proliferation of LCSCs from the MHCC97 cell line in a dose-dependent manner (P<0.05), the half maximal inhibitory concentration of the parental cells and LCSCs was 17.9 and 0.5 μmol/l, respectively. Furthermore, casticin reduced the sphere-forming capacity of LCSCs and downregulated β-catenin protein expression in a concentration-dependent manner. Lithium chloride, an agonist known to activate the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, attenuated the casticin-induced downregulation of β-catenin protein expression and inhibited the self-renewal capacity. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first to demonstrate that casticin effectively eradicates LCSCs and β-catenin was identified as the potential target. Thus, casticin may offer a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of HCC.