Eun-A Kim

Title : Saringosterol acetate suppressed hepatocelluar carcinoma growth and metastasis in a zebrafish xenograft model

Abstract:

Saringosterol acetate (SSA) can be isolated from an edible brown alga, Hizikia fusiforme. In this study, we developed an adult zebrafish human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) xenograft model to confirm our previous finding that SSA inhibits tumor growth and metastasis. The zebrafish is one of the most widely used model organisms for drug discovery, molecular genetics, and the screening of human diseases. Established Hep3B cells labeled with the fluorescent tracker CM-Dil were xenografted into the abdominal cavities of zebrafish once every three days for one month. Compared with the control group, the fish injected with Hep3B showed a significant increase in α-fetoprotein (AFP) and factors related to tumor growth and metastasis (IL-6, TNF-α, TGFβ, MMP2, and MMP9). Using the zebrafish xenograft model, we then showed that SSA affected survival rate, AFP production, and the levels of factors related to tumor growth and metastasis via the PI3K/AKT/mTOR and TGFβ/Smad pathways. In conclusion, this HCC model can be used for in vivo experiments to investigate the inhibition of cancer, and SSA isolated from H. fusiforme may be useful for the treatment of cancer.
Audience take away:
• Saringosterol acetate which is the marine natural product possess anti-cancer properties
• An adult zebrafish human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) xenograft model can be used for in vivo experiments to investigate the inhibition of cancer
• Saringosterol acetate may be used as a pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals.

Biography:

Dr. Eun-A Kim is the post-doctoral scientist at Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology (KIOST). She received her MS and PhD degree from Jeju National University in 2016. She studied functional evaluation such as anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-diabetes, and whitening and safety assessment both in vitro cell lines and in vivo zebrafish model. Recently, she is concerned with development of an evaluation model for functional evaluation using zebrafish model.