Effects of Oxysophocarpine on the Proliferation and Apoptosis of Gastric Cancer MGC80-3 Cells

OBJECTIVE To observe the effect of oxysophocarpine on the proliferation and apoptosis of gastric cancer MGC80-3 cells and its mechanism. METHODS CCK-8, Hoechest 33342 staining, inverted microscope and flow cytometry were used to determine the effect of oxidized saponin on cell proliferation and apoptosis. qRT-PCR was used to detect Bcl-2 and Bax mRNA levels in gastric cancer MGC80-3 cells. Western blot was used to detect the protein levels of Bcl-2, Bax, cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-9 in gastric cancer MGC80-3 cells. RESULTS Oxysophocarpine effectively inhibited the proliferation of gastric cancer MGC80-3 cells in a time-and dose-dependent manner(P<0.05). 0.48, 0.95, 1.91 mmol·L^-1 oxysophocarpine could induce apoptosis(P<0.05). Apoptosis inhibitor Z-DEVD-FMK could reverse the apoptosis-inducing effect of oxysophocarpine. 0.95, 1.91 mmol·L^-1 oxysophocarpine could up-regulate the mRNA level of Bax and down-regulate the mRNA level of Bcl-2, the differences were statistically significant(P<0.05). 0.95 mmol·L^-1 and 1.91 mmol·L^-1 oxysophocarpine could up-regulated the protein levels of Bax, cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-9, and down-regulated the level of Bcl-2 protein, the differences were statistically significant(P<0.05 or P<0.01). The inhibitor of apoptosis Z-DEVD-FMK reversed the effects of oxysophocarpine on Bcl-2, Bax, cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-9 proteins. CONCLUSION Oxysophocarpine can inhibit the proliferation of gastric cancer MGC80-3 cells and induce apoptosis by regulating the expression of Bcl-2, Bax, cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-9.