Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a major subtype of primary liver cancer with a high mortality rate. Pyroptosis and autophagy are crucial processes in the pathophysiology of HCC. Searching for efficient drugs targeting pyroptosis and autophagy with lower toxicity is useful for HCC treatment. Mallotucin D (MLD), a clerodane diterpenoid from Croton crassifolius, has not been previously reported for its anticancer effects in HCC. This study aims to evaluate the inhibitory effects of MLD in HCC and explore the underlying mechanism. We found that the cell proliferation, DNA synthesis, and colony formation of HepG2 cells and the angiogenesis of HUVECs were all greatly inhibited by MLD. MLD caused mitochondrial damage and decreased the TOM20 expression and mitochondrial membrane potential, inducing ROS overproduction. Moreover, MLD promoted the cytochrome C from mitochondria into cytoplasm, leading to cleavage of caspase-9 and caspase-3 inducing GSDMD-related pyroptosis. In addition, we revealed that MLD activated mitophagy by inhibiting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. Using the ROS-scavenging reagent NAC, the activation effects of MLD on pyroptosis- and autophagy-related pathways were all inhibited. In the HepG2 xenograft model, MLD effectively inhibited tumor growth without detectable toxicities in normal tissue. In conclusion, MLD could be developed as a candidate drug for HCC treatment by inducing mitophagy and pyroptosis via promoting mitochondrial-related ROS production.
Keywords: BNIP3; HepG2 cell; ROS; mallotucin D; mitophagy; pyroptosis.