Mechanical Stress Promotes Cisplatin-Induced Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cell Death

Figure 7

Schematic diagram for the effect of CisPt, mechanical stress, and CisPt combined with mechanical stress on HepG2 cells. (a) HepG2 cells without exposure to any stress factors have reactive oxygen species (ROS) bound to glutathione or to carnosine. (b) Upon addition of CisPt, low cell death results probably due to the complexation of some CisPt molecules to carnosine or glutathione in the cytoplasm. (c) Upon exposure of HepG2 cells to mechanical stress, complexes of ROS-glutathione and ROS-carnosine are disassembled; hence ROS is free to enter the nucleus and cause moderate cell death. (d) In the presence of CisPt and mechanical stress, many CisPt-Car, CisPt-glutathione, ROS-carnosine, and ROS-glutathione complexes are disassembled and many CisPt and ROS molecules enter the nucleus resulting in high cell death.