Investigation of the effects of progesterone and vitamin D on liver cancer cells

Aim: Cholestasis is a common symptom of liver diseases. Various studies demonstrate that the use of progesterone during pregnancy increases the risk of cholestasis. In our study, the HepG2 cell line, which has been reported to show a gene expression profile similar to that of human in vivo cholestasis, was used as a model. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of progesterone on HepG2 cell proliferation and liver enzyme levels and to examine whether vitamin D has a role in preventing the possible cytotoxic effects of progesterone treatment. Method: HepG2 cell viability and levels of liver enzymes ALT, AST, and LDH were determined after progesterone and vitamin D administration alone or together. Results: 1mM and 2mM progesterone treatments led to a significant decrease in cell viability compared to the untreated control cells. In addition, 1mM and 2mM progesterone administration significantly decreased AST and LDH values. Vitamin D3 did not have a cytotoxic effect on HepG2 cells in the range of 0.008 µM and 166.667 µM. In addition, no significant difference was observed in ALT, AST, and LDH values in cells treated with vitamin D3 alone. Cell viability and liver enzyme levels were found to be similar between cells, that were treated with progesterone alone or in combination with vitamin D. Conclusion: Vitamin D does not have a role in preventing possible cytotoxic effects that may be caused by progesterone treatment at the doses and incubation times used.