The antitumor effect and mechanism of taipeinine A, a new C19-diterpenoid alkaloid from Aconitum taipeicum, on the HepG2 human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line.

Purpose: To investigate whether taipeinine A (JNQ2), a C19-diterpenoid alkaloid prepared from the roots of Aconitum taipeicum, has anticancer effects on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to study its probable anticancer mechanisms. Methods: JNQ2 activities were assessed on human HCC cell line (HepG2) by proliferative assay, cell cycle arrest assay, apoptosis analysis, cell invasion assay and Western blot analysis. Results: The antitumor activity tests showed that JNQ2 inhibited the proliferation of HepG2 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner and blocked the cell cycle at the G1/S phase. High dosage of JNQ2 induced significant apoptosis of tumor cells. The invasiveness of HepG2 cells was also inhibited by JNQ2. The mechanism of JNQ2 antitumor effect at the molecular level was presumed to be the upregulation of the protein expression of Bax and Caspase-3 and the downregulation of the protein expression of Bcl-2 and CCND1. Conclusion: Our study suggests that JNQ2 has anticancer effects on HepG2 cells and it is a potential reagent for the treatment of HCC that merits further investigation.