Tanshinone IIA inhibits human hepatocellular carcinoma J5 cell growth by increasing Bax and caspase 3 and decreasing CD31 expression in vivo.

Tanshinone IIA (Tan-IIA) decreases the viability of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells through the induction of apoptosis in vitro. However, there are no reports that Tan-IIA is capable of inhibiting J5 HCC cell growth in vivo. In this study, J5 cells were implanted directly into nude SCID mice which were divided randomly into four groups to be treated with vehicle, Tan-IIA (30 mg/-kg of body weight, Q.week days 3 and 5), 5-FU (30 mg/-kg of body weight, Q.week day 1) or Tan-IIA (30 mg/-kg of body weight, Q.week days 3 and 5) plus 5-FU (30 mg/-kg of body weight, Q.week day 1). Each agent was injected intraperitoneally, with treatment starting 4 weeks after inoculation with J5 cells. Treatment with Tan-IIA 30 mg/-kg or with 30 mg/-kg of 5‑FU resulted in a reduction in tumor size and weight compared with the control group. The protein expression of Bax and caspase-3 in the J5 xenograft tumors treated with Tan-IIA 30 mg/-kg or with 30 mg/kg of 5-FU was upregulated, whereas that of CD31 was downregulated compared with the control group. These findings indicate that Tan-IIA may inhibit tumor growth in a J5 xenograft animal model by increasing Bax and caspase 3 and decreasing CD31 expression in vivo.