Lycorine promotes autophagy and apoptosis via TCRP1/Akt/mTOR axis inactivation in human hepatocellular carcinoma

Lycorine is a multi-functional bioactive compound, and it possesses potential anti-cancer activities. However, little is known about the underlying mechanism. In this research we have found that lycorine significantly induces the apoptotic and autophagic capacities of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells in vitro and in vivo. Treatment with specific autophagy inhibitor (3-methyladenine/Bafilomycin A1) or knockdown of LC-3B/Atg5 by siRNA drastically enhances the apoptotic cell death effect by facilitating the switch from autophagy to apoptosis. Molecular validation mechanistically demonstrates that lycorine-induced apoptosis and autophagy in HCC cells is associated with decreased protein levels of tongue cancer resistance-associated protein 1 (TCRP1), and we further find that inhibition of TCRP1 decreases phosphorylation level of Akt and represses Akt/mTOR signaling. Finally, lycorine-induced apoptosis and autophagy suppress the growth of xenograft hepatocellular tumors without remarkable toxicity. Our results elucidate a novel molecular mechanism whereby lycorine promotes apoptosis and autophagy through TCRP1/Akt/mTOR pathway in HCC. Our results reveal that lycorine might be a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of HCC.

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