title: Vitamin C induces apoptosis in AGS cells by down-regulation of 14-3-3σ via a mitochondrial dependent pathway.
abstract: Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) is an essential component of most living cells. Apart from antioxidant activity, it has been reported to inhibit cancer cell growth in vitro in human cancer cells. However, the cellular mechanism underlying anticancer activity has not been fully elucidated. In this study, vitamin C showed a cytotoxic effect on human gastric cancer cell line AGS (LD50 300μg/ml). Further, flow cytometry analysis showed that vitamin C increased the sub-G1 (apoptosis) population and apoptosis confirmed by fluorescein isothiocyanate-Annexin V double staining in AGS cells. Moreover, specific immuno-blotting revealed the expression of the phosphorylated form of Bad (S136), 14-3-3σ, pro-caspases-3, -6, -8, and-9 protein levels were significantly decreased and Bax/Bcl-xL ratio was increased in a dose-dependent manner. Also, wound healing assay results showed that vitamin C inhibited AGS cell proliferation. These findings suggest that vitamin C induces apoptosis and might be a potential therapeutic agent for gastric cancer.
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Life Science and College of Veterinary Medicine, Gyeongsang National University, 900 Gajwadong, Jinju, Gyeongnam 660-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Arulkumar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nagappan
authors.forename: Kwang Il
authors.initials: KI
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Hyeon Soo
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Jin A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Gyeong Eun
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Sang Rim
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Do Hoon
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Eun Hee
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Won Sup
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Chung Kil
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Won
authors.forename: Gon Sup
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D048948:14-3-3 Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D015536:Down-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D051028:bcl-2-Associated X Protein / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D048948:14-3-3 Proteins; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D051028:bcl-2-Associated X Protein; D001205:Ascorbic Acid