Effect of valeric acid on the biological behavior of colorectal cancer cells by regulating the Notch pathway
CAO Mengying
JIN Qizhong
DENG Xu
HAN Liang
XIU Lijuan
Abstract：Objective To investigate the effect of valeric acid on the biological behaviors of colorectal cancer HCT116 cells and its underlying mechanism.Methods The colorectal cancer HCT116 cells were divided into five groups:normal culture group,low-dose valeric acid group,medium-dose valeric acid group,high-dose valeric acid group,and Notch pathway inhibitor group(GSI-IX group).The proliferative capacity of HCT116 cells was analyzed by 5-ethynyl-2'-deoxyuridine(EdU)staining.The invasive capacity of HCT116 cells was analyzed by Transwell assay.The migratory capacity of HCT116 cells was analyzed by cell scratch wound healing assay.The apoptosis rate of HCT116 cells was analyzed by flow cytometry.The expression levels of neu-rogenic locus homolog protein 1(Notch1),hairy and enhancer of split-1(HES1),and hairy/enhancer-of-split related with YRPW motif protein 1(HEY1)in HCT116 cells were detected by Western blotting.Results The proliferative capacity of HCT116 cells in all valeric acid dose groups and the GSI-IX group((16.53±1.29)%,(13.16±2.15)%,(5.61±0.58)%,(6.73±0.75)%),invasive capacity((82.26±2.53)cells,(68.37±3.79)cells,(31.53±2.18)cells,(36.75±3.55)cells)and migratory capacity((62.18±3.75)%,(53.87±3.65)%,(23.15±3.57)%,(28.16±2.62)%)were all lower than those in the normal culture group((39.25±2.82)%,(96.27±3.15)cells,(82.68±4.66)%),and the differences were statistically significant(F=367.851,497.388,265.160,all P＜0.001).The apoptosis rate of HCT116 cells in all valeric acid dose groups and the GSI-IX group((5.32±0.09)%,(11.05±0.62)%,(15.39±1.25)%,(14.68±1.36)%)were higher than that in the normal culture group((2.01±0.08)%),and the difference was statis-tically significant(F=270.242,P＜0.05).The expression levels of Notch1(0.63±0.07,0.43±0.06,0.31±0.02,0.28±0.05),HES1(0.72±0.07,0.50±0.08,0.33±0.02,0.27±0.03)and HEY1(0.68±0.05,0.52±0.06,0.37±0.05,0.31±0.07)in HCT116 cells in all valeric acid dose groups and the GSI-IX group were all lower than those in the normal culture group(0.79±0.05,0.81±0.05,0.85±0.09),and the differences were statistically significant(F=102.345,110.722,68.653,all P＜0.05).Conclusion Valeric acid can inhibit the proliferation,migration,and invasion of colorectal cancer HCT116 cells,and promote the apoptosis of HCT116 cells.These effects of valeric acid on HCT116 cells is related to the regulation of the Notch signaling pathway.
Keywords：valeric acidcolorectal cancerNotch signaling pathwayproliferationmigrationapoptosisinvasion
Publication Date：2025-12-25
Online Publishing Date：2026-01-07(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 1604-1608 )