Antitumor activity of doxycycline in HepG-2 cells

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major health problem worldwide. While considerable advances have been made in diagnosis and treatment of HCC, it is still associated with high rate of mortality and poor prognosis, even with therapies that are considered potentially curative. The current study sought to evaluate the anti-tumor/cytotoxic activity of doxycycline in HepG2 cells. Following 48-hr treatments with increasing concentrations of doxycycline, HepG2 cell survival was measured using MTT and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assays. Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs), and Fascin levels were assessed via ELISA. In addition, indicators of potential induction of apoptosis and anti-oxidant activity of the drug were assessed via measures of cell caspase-3 activity and both superoxide anion production and superoxide dismutase activity, respectively. The results indicate that treatment of the HepG2 cells with doxycycline caused reductions in cell survival in a dose-related manner. In addition, it was seen that doxycycline was able to stimulate cellular apoptosis (measured by caspase-3 activity) in these cells. In conclusion, doxycycline proved promising cytotoxic/antitumor activity and opens, thereby, a new horizon against vascular migration ability of the tumor cells.