title: The effect of combination treatment with docosahexaenoic acid and 5-fluorouracil on the mRNA expression of apoptosis-related genes, including the novel gene BCL2L12, in gastric cancer cells.
abstract: Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) plays an important role in suppressing the growth of cancer. In this paper, the synergetic anticancer effect of combination DHA with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) was investigated in gastric carcinoma cells. We found that DHA inhibited the growth of cultured SGC7901 cells at different concentrations in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Furthermore, the growth-inhibition activities of increasing concentration of 5-FU were markedly enhanced when different doses of 5-FU were administered in the combination with dose as low as 40 microg/ml of DHA. The early phase of apoptosis was increased in DHA- and 5-FU-treated cells. In the case of apoptotic genes expression in the combination-treated cells, BAX mRNA expression increased, whereas FAS, BCL-2, BCL2L12, and CASPASE-9 mRNA expression decreased. These results suggest that DHA strongly enhances the anticancer effect of 5-FU. Moreover, the application of both compounds on gastric cancer cells provides a new potential approach for cancer therapy.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, Ningbo University, 818 Fenghua Road, Ningbo, 315211, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhihong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhuo
authors.forename: Leming
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Qitian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Mu
authors.forename: Yanru
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lou
authors.forename: Zhaohui
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Yijiu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Guifang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ouyang
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic / Q000494:pharmacology; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004357:Drug Synergism; D005472:Fluorouracil / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D009124:Muscle Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D000964:Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; C430100:BCL2L12 protein, human; D009124:Muscle Proteins; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids; D005472:Fluorouracil