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- Title
Β-Elemene-induced autophagy protects human gastric cancer cells from undergoing apoptosis.
- Authors
Jing Liu; Ye Zhang; Jinglei Qu; Ling Xu; Kezuo Hou; Jingdong Zhang; Xiujuan Qu; Yunpeng Liu
- Abstract
Background: β-Elemene, a compound found in an herb used in traditional Chinese medicine, has shown promising anti-cancer effects against a broad spectrum of tumors. The mechanism by which β-Elemene kills cells remains unclear. The aim of the present study is to investigate the anti-tumor effect of β-Elemene on human gastric cancer cells and the molecular mechanism involved. Results: β-Elemene inhibited the viability of human gastric cancer MGC803 and SGC7901 cells in a dose-dependent manner. The suppression of cell viability was due to the induction of apoptosis. A robust autophagy was observed in the cells treated with β-Elemene; it was characterized by the increase of punctate LC3 dots, the cellular morphology, and the increased levels of LC3-II protein. Further study showed that β-Elemene treatment up-regulated Atg5-Atg12 conjugated protein but had little effect on other autophagy-related proteins. PI3K/Akt/ mTOR/p70S6K1 activity was inhibited by β-Elemene. Knockdown of Beclin 1 with small interfering RNA, or cotreatment with the autophagy inhibitor, 3-methyladenine or chlorochine enhanced significantly the antitumor effects of β-Elemene. Conclusions: Our data provides the first evidence that β-Elemene induces protective autophagy and prevents human gastric cancer cells from undergoing apoptosis. A combination of β-Elemene with autophagy inhibitor might thus be a useful therapeutic option for advanced gastric cancer.
- Publication
BMC Cancer, 2011, Vol 11, Issue 1, p183
- ISSN
1471-2407
- Publication type
Academic Journal
- DOI
10.1186/1471-2407-11-183