Apigenin regulates the migration, invasion, and autophagy of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by downregulating YAP

Jing Zeng, Hua Xie, Zhi-Lin Zhang, Zi-Xian Li, Lin Shi, Ke-Yan Wu, Yang Zhou, Zhen Tian,  Yu Zhang,  Wei Zhou,  Wei-Gan Shen

Abstract:

Apigenin is an edible flavonoid with anticancer properties; however, the underlying mechanisms in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain to be clarified. In the present study, we demonstrated that apigenin decreased the viability of both SMMC-7721 and SK-Hep1 cells in a dose-dependent manner, and inhibited the migration and invasion of HCC cells with different metastatic potential by regulating actin cytoskeletal rearrangements. Moreover, we showed that apigenin decreased the expression of YAP, and subsequently reduced migration and invasion by modulating the expression of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers, and promoted the autophagy of HCC cells by regulating the expression of autophagy-related genes. Collectively, the present findings might provide a novel mechanism for the therapeutic application of apigenin in HCC.