title: Anti-proliferative and chemosensitizing effects of luteolin on human gastric cancer AGS cell line.
abstract: To investigate the anti-proliferative and chemosensitizing effects of luteolin on human gastric cancer, gastric cancer AGS cells were treated with luteolin and/or other chemotherapeutic agents. Cell growth was assessed by MTT assay, cell cycle and apoptosis were assessed by flow-cytometric analysis, and the expression of major proteins regulating cell cycle and apoptosis was also detected. The results showed that luteolin inhibited the growth of gastric cancer cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Flow cytometry revealed that the percentage of cells at G2/M phase increased dose-dependently. The protein levels of Cdc2, Cyclin B1 and Cdc25C were reduced and p21/cip1 was up-regulated after the treatment with luteolin. Furthermore, luteolin induced apoptosis in gastric cancer AGS cells. Western blotting showed that luteolin treatment significantly increased the levels of pro-apoptotic proteins, including Caspase-3, 6, 9, Bax, and p53, and decreased the levels of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, thus shifting the Bax/Bcl ratio in favor of apoptosis. It was also demonstrated that a combinational treatment of cisplatin and luteolin induced more effectively cell growth inhibition, compared to cisplatin treatment alone. These findings indicate the anti-proliferative and chemosensitizing effects of luteolin on human gastric cancer AGS cells and luteolin may be a promising candidate agent used in the treatment of gastric cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Shanghai Sixth Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Weiming
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000494:pharmacology; D004354:Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; D004357:Drug Synergism; D006801:Humans; D047311:Luteolin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D047311:Luteolin; D002945:Cisplatin