Zinc promotes cell apoptosis via activating the Wnt-3a/β-catenin signaling pathway in osteosarcoma

Background The zinc content in the blood and tumor tissues of patients with osteosarcoma and the underlying regulation and molecular mechanism of zinc have not been reported. Methods and results This study showed that the zinc content in the blood and tumor tissues of patients with osteosarcoma significantly reduced. CCK-8 and Transwell chamber assays revealed that zinc treatment significantly inhibited the proliferation and invasion abilities of osteosarcoma cells. Western blot analysis indicated that the expression levels of caspase-3 and caspase-9 were significantly increased, suggesting that zinc inhibited the growth and promoted the apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells. In addition, the expression levels of Wnt-3a and beta-catenin, the marker proteins of the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathways, were significantly increased in osteosarcoma cells after zinc intervention, which demonstrated that the pathway was clearly activated. However, the effect of zinc on the apoptosis, proliferation, and invasion abilities of osteosarcoma cells was reversed when the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathways was inhibited by XAV939 (Wnt antagonist) treatment. Conclusions This study is the first to report the changes in zinc levels in the blood and tumor tissues of patients with osteosarcoma and to preliminarily verify that zinc inhibits the proliferation and invasion and promote the apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells by inducing the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway, which ultimately inhibit cancer growth.