Lasiokaurin suppresses hepatocellular carcinoma proliferation and induces apoptosis via the JAK2/STAT3 pathway.

The antitumor effects of Lasiokaurin (LAS), a natural compound derived from traditional Chinese medicine extracts, remain poorly understood in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Therefore, this study investigates the anticancer effects of LAS in liver cancer. The experiment employed Wound healing assay, colony formation assays, Transwell assays, flow cytometry, Western blot analysis, and reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) to evaluate the relationship between LAS and apoptosis, migration, proliferation, and cell cycle arrest. RNA-sequencing, RT-qPCR, and Western blot techniques were used to detect markers associated with the Janus kinase 2/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (JAK2/STAT3) pathway. The anti-tumor efficacy was assessed using a subcutaneous tumor-bearing mouse model. LAS promotes apoptosis and cell cycle arrest, significantly inhibiting tumor growth. These findings indicate that LAS mediates apoptosis through the JAK2/STAT3 pathway, suggesting its potential as a novel anticancer agent.