title: Harmine combined with paclitaxel inhibits tumor proliferation and induces apoptosis through down-regulation of cyclooxygenase-2 expression in gastric cancer.
abstract: Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) serves an important role in the carcinogenesis and progression of gastric cancer. Harmine (HM) and paclitaxel (PTX) are reported as promising drug candidates for cancer therapy, but whether a synergistic anti-tumor effect of HM combined with PTX exists in human gastric cancer remains unknown. The present study evaluated the effects of HM and/or PTX on cell proliferation and apoptosis in a gastric cancer cell line, SGC-7901. HM and PTX inhibited cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. Both HM and PTX alone induced apoptosis in gastric cancer cells. The combination of HM and PTX exerted synergistic effects on proliferation inhibition and apoptosis induction in SGC-7901 cells, with down-regulation of COX-2, PCNA and Bcl-2 and up-regulation of Bax expression. The results indicated that combination chemotherapy using HM with PTX exerts an anti-tumor effect for treating gastric cancer. The combination of the two drugs inhibits gastric cancer development more effectively than each drug alone through down-regulation of COX-2 expression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency, People's Hospital of Taizhou, Jiangsu 225300, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Juan
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, First Hospital of Zibo, Shandong 255200, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Kun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, First Hospital of Zibo, Shandong 255200, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiao-He
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, First Hospital of Zibo, Shandong 255200, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Cun-Jin
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, First Hospital of Zibo, Shandong 255200, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, First Hospital of Zibo, Shandong 255200, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhe
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, First Hospital of Zibo, Shandong 255200, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, First Hospital of Zibo, Shandong 255200, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hong-Wen
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, First Hospital of Zibo, Shandong 255200, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yi-Kui
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency, People's Hospital of Taizhou, Jiangsu 225300, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gu
keywords: apoptosis; cyclooxygenase-2; gastric cancer; harmine; paclitaxel