Flavokawain C inhibits proliferation and migration of liver cancer cells through FAK/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway

Purpose This study investigated the potential applicability and the underlying mechanisms of flavokawain C, a natural compound derived from kava extracts, in liver cancer treatment.

Methods Drug distribution experiment used to demonstrate the preferential tissues enrichment of flavokawain C. Cell proliferation, apoptosis and migration effect of flavokawain C were determined by MTT, colony formation, EdU staining, cell adhesion, transwell, flow cytometry and western blot assay.

The mechanism was explored by comet assay, immunofluorescence assay, RNA-seq-based Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes analysis, molecular dynamics, bioinformatics analysis and western blot assay.

The anticancer effect of flavokawain C was further confirmed by xenograft tumor model.

Results The studies first demonstrated the preferential enrichment of flavokawain C within liver tissues in vivo.

The findings demonstrated that flavokawain C significantly inhibited proliferation and migration of liver cancer cells, induced cellular apoptosis, and triggered intense DNA damage along with strong DNA damage response.

The findings from RNA-seq-based KEGG analysis, molecular dynamics, bioinformatics analysis, and western blot assay mechanistically indicated that treatment with flavokawain C notably suppressed the FAK/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in liver cancer cells.

This effect was attributed to the induction of gene changes and the binding of flavokawain C to the ATP sites of FAK and PI3K, resulting in the inhibition of their phosphorylation.

Additionally, flavokawain C also displayed the strong capacity to inhibit Huh-7-derived xenograft tumor growth in mice with minimal adverse effects.

Conclusions These findings identified that flavokawain C is a promising anticancer agent for liver cancer treatment.