Abstract
Neuroblastoma (NB) is the most common solid tumor of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) arising in childhood less than 15 years age. Licochalcone (Lic) is known to show inhibitory effects in cancer growth, and there has evidence suggested that Lic A inhibits hypoxic induced NB SK-N-SH cell proliferation. However, it is unclear whether LicE exerts similar effects in NB and the associated molecular mechanism of Lic in neuroblastoma is still unclear. In the current study, we found that LicE at the concentration 2, 4 and 6 μM all induced a profound reduction in cell viability, colony formation and cell proliferation. Next, LicE treatment effectively promoted cell apoptosis, inhibited cell migration and invasion. LicE significantly suppressed trxR1 expression, activated Nrf2 expression and inhibited STAT6 expression in SH-SY5Y and SK-N-BE(2) NB cells. We further identified that trxR1, STAT6 overexpression or Nrf2 silence reversed the antitumor effects of LicE in human SH-SY5Y and SK-N-BE(2) NB cells. Finally, LicE treatment significantly inhibited tumor growth in nude mice carrying a SK-N-SH cell xenograft. These results provide new insights into the effects and highlighting a novel mechanism of LicE through regulating trxR1/Nrf2/STAT6 signal pathway in NB.