Effects of Lidocaine-Mediated CPEB3 Upregulation in Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cell Proliferation In Vitro

Lidocaine displays antitumor activity by inducing apoptosis and suppressing tumor growth in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cells in vitro. However, the molecular mechanism underlying lidocaine-mediated antitumor activity is unclear. In this study, HepG2 cells were treated with lidocaine, and cell proliferation and colony-forming ability were assessed. The expression level of cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding protein 3 (CPEB3) was detected by real-time quantitative PCR and western blot. Lidocaine treatment resulted in decreased HepG2 cell viability and colony formation in a dose-dependent manner. In hepatocellular carcinoma patient samples, CPEB3 was downregulated and was associated with poor prognosis and high-grade malignancy. Additionally, CPEB3 was a critical mediator of lidocaine-induced repression of HepG2 cell proliferation. These results demonstrated that lidocaine decreased cell viability and colony-forming ability of HepG2 cells by upregulating CPEB3 expression.