Effect of Lenvatinib treatment on the cell cycle and microRNA profile in hepatocellular carcinoma cells

Lenvatinib is a tyrosine kinase receptor inhibitor used to treat unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study, we investigated the antitumor effects of Lenvatinib treatment on HCC cell lines. Proliferation was examined in four HCC cell lines (HuH-7, Hep3B, Li-7, and PLC/PRF/5) using Cell Counting Kit-8 assays. Xenograft mouse models were used to assess the effects of Lenvatinib in vivo. Cell cycle, western blotting, and microRNA (miRNA) expression analyses were performed to identify the antitumor inhibitory potential of Lenvatinib on HCC cells. Lenvatinib treatment suppressed proliferation of HuH-7 and Hep3B, but not Li-7 and PLC/PRF/5 cells and induced G(0)/G(1) cell cycle arrest and cyclin D1 downregulation in Lenvatinib-sensitive cells. Lenvatinib treatment also reduced tumor growth in HuH-7 xenograft mouse models. miRNA microarrays revealed that Lenvatinib treatment altered the expression of miRNAs in HuH7 cells and exosomes. Our results demonstrated the therapeutic potential of Lenvatinib and provide molecular mechanistic insights into its antitumor effects for treating HCC.