Itraconazole exerts anti-liver cancer potential through the Wnt, PI3K/AKT/mTOR, and ROS pathways.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers with the highest morbidity and mortality. It is necessary to develop new anti-liver cancer drugs. Itraconazole is a popular systemic anti-fungal drug with a strong anti-tumor effect. However, so far, it is not clear whether itraconazole has specific anti-tumor effect on liver cancer. The purpose of this study was to investigate itraconazole resistant effect of liver cancer and to explore its potential anti-cancer mechanism. The effect of itraconazole on the proliferation of liver cancer cells was studied with MTT assay. Flow cytometry was used to determine the effect of itraconazole on apoptosis, cell cycle distribution, changes in intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). In addition, after DAPI staining, nuclear morphological changes were observed under the fluorescent microscope, and the release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was measured using the microplate reader. Finally, the expressions of proteins related to the anti-tumor signaling pathway were determined by Western blotting. The results showed that itraconazole significantly inhibited the proliferation of HepG2 and Bel-7405 cells. In addition, the data showed that itraconazole induced apoptosis in HepG2 cells, increased the production of ROS, blocked cell cycle, and decreased MMP. Furthermore, itraconazole inhibited HCC cell growth and promoted apoptosis through the Hh, Wnt/catenin, AKT/mTOR/S6K, ROS and death receptor pathways. Finally, we come to the conclusion that itraconazole exerts anti-liver cancer effect, and has potential for use as a new drug for liver cancer in clinic.