Parameters under investigation included hepatic, non-hepatic enzymes, oxidative stress, pro-inflammatory cytokines, COX-2 and NF-κB level along with histopathological examination in HCC rats.
More importantly, COX-2-specific inhibitors synergistically enhanced the antitumor activity of sorafenib treatment.<b>Conclusions:</b> Our data obtained demonstrate that the COX/PGE2 axis acts as a regulator of HIF2α expression and activity to promote HCC development and reduce sorafenib sensitivity by constitutively activating the TGFα/EGFR pathway.
In a further study, we showed that inhibition of YAP and COX-2 acted synergistically and more efficiently reduced the growth of HCC cells and tumor formation than either of them alone, suggesting that dual governing of YAP and COX-2 may lead to the discovery of promising therapeutic strategies for HCC patients via blocking this positive feedback loop.
In conclusion, the findings of the present study provide evidence that the STAT3-COX-2 signaling pathway is involved in NaHS-induced cell proliferation, migration, angiogenesis and anti-apoptosis in PLC/PRF/5 cells, and suggest that the positive feedback between STAT3 and COX-2 may serve a crucial role in hepatocellular carcinoma carcinogenesis.
In addition, it was confirmed that the anticancer efficacy of avicularin in HCC was dependent on the regulation of NF‑κB (p65), COX‑2 and PPAR‑γ activities.
The co-expression of iNOS with COX-2 may portend a particularly aggressive cancer phenotype in HCC and at the same time reveal an opportunity for pharmacological intervention.
Our study reveals that ketoconazole, a broad-spectrum antifungal agent, activates PINK1/Parkin-mediated mitophagy by downregulating COX-2, consequently resulting in the acceleration of apoptosis and thereby inhibiting the growth of HCC.