Effect and Mechanism of Ginsenoside Rb1 on Hepatocellular Carcinoma Through Apolipoprotein M/Mitochondrial Apoptosis Pathway
Objective:To explore the role of apolipoprotein M(ApoM)and mitochondrial apoptosis in liver cancer,and the poten-tial mechanism of ginsenoside Rb1 in affecting liver cancer through the ApoM/mitochondrial apoptosis pathway.Methods:Bioinfor-matics analysis was used to screen for differential expression of ApoM in liver cancer,followed by clinical validation.Molecular doc-king determined the targeted binding of ginsenoside Rb1 to ApoM.Human liver cancer cells(HepG2)were cultured in vitro,and cell viability was assessed using the CCK-8 assay to screen for the optimal intervention concentration of ginsenoside Rb1.Clonogen-ic assays were conducted to evaluate HepG2 cell proliferation,while scratch assays were used to assess the migration ability of HepG2 cells.Protein expression of ApoM and apoptosis-related genes,including Bax,Bcl2,Caspase-3,and Caspase-9,was detected using Western blot.Real-time quantitative PCR(RT-qPCR)was employed to measure mRNA expression levels of ApoM and apop-tosis-related genes(Bax,Bcl2,Caspase-3,and Caspase-9).Results:Survival analysis indicated that low ApoM expression correlated with poorer prognosis in liver cancer.Molecular docking suggested a high affinity between ginsenoside Rb1 and ApoM.Clonogenic and scratch assays indicated that ginsenoside Rb1 effectively inhibited HepG2 cell proliferation.Western blot and RT-qPCR con-firmed that ginsenoside Rb1 modulated the protein and mRNA expression of mitochondrial apoptosis-related genes.Conclusion:This study reveals the important role of the ApoM/mitochondrial apoptosis pathway in liver cancer,suggesting that ginsenoside Rb1 may influence liver cancer through the ApoM/mitochondrial apoptosis pathway.