alpha-asarone and Stomach-Neoplasms

Objective To observe the effects of β-asarone on epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of human gastric cancer MGC-803 cells in BALB/c nude mice,and to study its possible molecular mechanism. Methods Gastric cancer MGC-803 cells were subcutaneously inoculated to nude mice for preparing transplanted tumor model. Totally 24 nude mice were then divided into the negative control group (model) , the positive control group (5-FU,25 mg/kg) , the high dose β-asarone group (100 mg/ kg) , the low dose β-asarone group (50 mg/kg) , 8 in each group. Corresponding medicines were adminis- tered to rats in respective group by gastrogavage, once per day for 10 successive days. The mice were sacrificed at the end of the intervention, and the tumor inhibition rate was calculated. The expressions of E-cadherin, N-cadherin, Snail, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), phosphorylation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase ( p-PI3K ) , serine/threonine kinase ( AKT) , phosphorylation of serine/threonine kinase (p-AKT) were detected by Real-time PCR and Western Blot. Results Compared with the model group, the volume of transplanted tumor was obviously reduced in 5-FU group and β-asarone groups from day7 to day 11 (P <0.05). Protein and mRNA expressions of N-cadherin, Snail, p-PI3K, p-AKT decreased, and protein and mRNA expressions of E-cadherin increased in 5-FU group and β-asarone groups (P < 0. 05). Conclusions β-asarone could inhibit proliferation ability of gastric cancer cells, and its mecha- nism might be associated with down-regulating P13K/AKT signal pathway of gastric cancer cells and re- straining EMT of gastric cancer cells.

Topics: Allylbenzene Derivatives; Animals; Anisoles; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Proliferation; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition; Humans; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mice, Nude; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; Rats; Stomach Neoplasms

β-Asarone is the main volatile oil of Chinese herb Rhizoma Acori Tatarinowii. It exhibits a wide range of biological activities in many human organs. However, few studies have investigated the effect of β-asarone on gastric cancer. The present study investigated the effect of β-asarone on the proliferation and apoptosis of three types of differentiated human gastric cancer cell lines (SGC-7901, BGC-823 and MKN-28) in vitro as well as the related molecular mechanisms. Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay, Annexin V/PI double staining, immunofluorescence test and transmission electron microscopy all confirmed that β-asarone had an obvious dose-dependent inhibitive effect on the proliferation of human gastric cancer cells and induced apoptosis of the cell lines. Transwell invasion, wound-healing and matrix‑cell adhesion experiments confirmed that β-asarone inhibited the invasion, migration and adhesion of human gastric cancer BGC-823 cells. Quantitative real-time PCR and western blotting found that β-asarone significantly activated caspase-3, caspase-8, caspase-9, Bax, Bak and suppressed Bcl-2, Bcl-xL and survivin activity. Moreover, β-asarone increased the expression of RECK, E-cadherin and decreased the expression of MMP-2, MMP-9, MMP-14 and N-cadherin. The present study demonstrated that β-asarone effectively inhibits the proliferation of human gastric cancer cells, induces their apoptosis and decreased the invasive, migratory and adhesive abilities.

Topics: Allylbenzene Derivatives; Anisoles; Apoptosis; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Proliferation; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; Humans; Neoplasm Invasiveness; Neoplasm Proteins; Stomach Neoplasms

Topics: Allylbenzene Derivatives; Anisoles; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; Cell Line; Colony-Forming Units Assay; HeLa Cells; Humans; Medicine, Chinese Traditional; Medicine, East Asian Traditional; Plants, Medicinal; Stomach Neoplasms; Tumor Stem Cell Assay