Synergy with interferon-lambda 3 and sorafenib suppresses hepatocellular carcinoma proliferation

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common and fatal malignancy of the liver. Sorafenib is a small molecule multikinase inhibitor that acts against different cancer cell lines and is used for the treatment of HCC. However, some advanced HCC patients fail to respond to sorafenib, and those who do lack a meaningful clinical benefit. Interferon-lambda 3 (IFN-λ3) is a type III interferon with antiviral, antiproliferative, and immunomodulatory functions. Here, we evaluated the use of IFN-λ3 as an adjuvant treatment with sorafenib in HCC. In the present study, CCK-8 and colony formation assay results showed that treatment with a combination of IFN-λ3 and sorafenib suppresses the viability of HepG2 and SMMC7721 liver cancer cell lines more than treatment with either alone. In addition, flow cytometry results confirmed that treatment with a combination of IFN-λ3 and sorafenib promotes the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and induces the production of ROS more than treatment with either alone. Furthermore, using a subcutaneous SMMC7721 tumor model, treatment with a combination of IFN-λ3 and sorafenib significantly reduced the tumor growth/volume and induced apoptosis compared to treatment with sorafenib alone. These results show that combined treatment with IFN-λ3 and sorafenib facilitates a synergistic effect on suppressing HCC cancer growth and promoting cell apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. Thus, IFN-λ3 in combination with sorafenib might prove to be a useful adjunctive strategy for the clinical treatment of HCC.