title: Combinational Treatment of Curcumin and Quercetin against Gastric Cancer MGC-803 Cells in Vitro.
abstract: Gastric cancer remains a major health problem worldwide. Natural products, with stronger antitumor activity and fewer side effects, are potential candidates for pharmaceutical development as anticancer agents. In this study, quercetin and curcumin were chosen for testing and were applied separately and in combination to human gastric cancer MGC-803 cells. The MTT assay was used to evaluate cell growth inhibition. Annexin V-FITC/PI was carried out to measure apoptosis rate. Flow cytometry was performed to analyze mitochondrial membrane potential levels. Western blots were applied to detect expression of cytochrome c, total and phosphorylated ERK and AKT. Combined treatment with curcumin and quercetin resulted in significant inhibition of cell proliferation, accompanied by loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm), release of cytochrome c and decreased phosphorylation of AKT and ERK. These results indicate that the combination of curcumin and quercetin induces apoptosis through the mitochondrial pathway. Notably, effect of combined treatment with curcumin and quercetin on gastric cancer MGC-803 cells is stronger than that of individual treatment, indicating that curcumin and quercetin combinations have potential as anti-gastric cancer drugs for further development.
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. jianyez@163.com.|School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guangzhou Medical University, 195 Dongfeng Road West, Guangzhou 510182, China. jianyez@163.com.
authors.forename: Jian-Ye
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guangzhou Medical University, 195 Dongfeng Road West, Guangzhou 510182, China. minting113@sina.com.
authors.forename: Min-Ting
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. aknet5jia@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Meng-Jia
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. yitao@hkbu.edu.hk.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. 11467312@life.hkbu.edu.hk.
authors.forename: Yi-Na
authors.initials: YN
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Guangzhou Medical University, 195 Dongfeng Road West, Guangzhou 510182, China. tangsilisixin@126.com.
authors.forename: Si-Li
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. yzhijun@hkbu.edu.hk.
authors.forename: Zhi-Jun
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. zzzhao@hkbu.edu.hk.
authors.forename: Zhong-Zhen
authors.initials: ZZ
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. hbchen@hkbu.edu.hk.
authors.forename: Hu-Biao
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D017304:Annexin A5 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D003474:Curcumin / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D053078:Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial / Q000187:drug effects; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000096:biosynthesis; D011794:Quercetin / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D017304:Annexin A5; D011794:Quercetin; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D003474:Curcumin
keywords: AKT; ERK; apoptosis; combined effect; curcumin; quercetin