{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T11:38:19Z","timestamp":1785411499881,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"14","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,20]],"date-time":"2026-07-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1784505600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Istanbul Gelisim University Scientific Research and Projects Department","award":["TGA-2024-188"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["TGA-2024-188"]}]},{"award":["TGA-2024-188"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["TGA-2024-188"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/0188hvh39","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The present study investigates the pro- and anti-apoptotic responses of HepG2 liver cancer cells to Ornithogalum sigmoideum (O. sigmoideum) and Smilax excelsa (S. excelsa) extracts, aiming to identify their potential as anti-cancer agents. Methanolic extracts of O. sigmoideum and S. excelsa were prepared, and their phytochemical profiles were analyzed by Gas Chromatography\u2013Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). Cytotoxicity and IC50 values were determined in HepG2 cells using the MTT assay. The relative mRNA expression of apoptotic genes (BAX, BCL-2, and Caspase-3) was quantified by qPCR, and the treatment effect size was calculated using Cohen\u2019s d. GC-MS analysis revealed distinct phytochemical profiles; S. excelsa was rich in phenolic compounds, while fatty acid esters and alcohols dominated Ornithogalum extracts. O. sigmoideum bulb extract exhibited the strongest cytotoxicity (IC50 = 125.57 \u00b5g\/mL), followed by the leaves (IC50 = 156.43 \u00b5g\/mL), whereas Smilax showed minimal toxicity (IC50 = 304.15 \u00b5g\/mL). Mechanistically, the O. sigmoideum leaf extract showed gene expression patterns consistent with pro-apoptotic signaling, including upregulation of BAX and Caspase-3 mRNA. O. sigmoideum extracts, especially from leaf parts, exhibit significant cytotoxicity, and the transcriptomic profile is consistent with apoptotic pathway activation in HepG2 cells, positioning it as a candidate for further mechanistic investigation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms27146435","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,20]],"date-time":"2026-07-20T09:32:54Z","timestamp":1784539974000},"page":"6435","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Apoptotic Gene Expression in HepG2 Cells Treated with Ornithogalum sigmoideum and Smilax excelsa Compounds"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"27","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0511-6611","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Onur","family":"Dirican","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathology Laboratory Techniques, Vocational School of Health Services, Istanbul Gelis\u0327im University, 34310 Istanbul, T\u00fcrkiye"},{"name":"Life Sciences and Biomedical Engineering Application and Research Centre, Istanbul Gelisim University, 34310 Istanbul, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"541","DOI":"10.1038\/s41568-021-00383-9","article-title":"The immunological and metabolic landscape in primary and metastatic liver cancer","volume":"21","author":"Li","year":"2021","journal-title":"Nat. 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