Ailanthone induces G2/M cell cycle arrest and apoptosis of SGC‑7901 human gastric cancer cells

Chen,Yuxin; Zhu,Ling; Yang,Xi; Wei,Cheng; Chen,Chuanrong; He,Yang; Ji,Zhaoning

doi:10.3892/mmr.2017.7491

Ailanthone induces G2/M cell cycle arrest and apoptosis of SGC‑7901 human gastric cancer cells

Authors:
- Yuxin Chen
- Ling Zhu
- Xi Yang
- Cheng Wei
- Chuanrong Chen
- Yang He
- Zhaoning Ji
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Affiliations: Department of Oncology, Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, Anhui 241001, P.R. China, Department of Oncology, The Second People's Hospital of Wuhu, Wuhu, Anhui 241001, P.R. China, Department of Medical Oncology, The Cancer Centre, Yijishan Hospital of Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, Anhui 241001, P.R. China
Published online on: September 13, 2017 https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2017.7491
Pages: 6821-6827
Copyright: © Chen et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Ailanthone is a major quassinoid extracted from the Chinese medicinal herb Ailanthus altissima, which has been reported to exert antiproliferative effects on various cancer cells. The present study aimed to investigate the antitumor effects of ailanthone on SGC‑7901 cells, and to analyze its underlying molecular mechanisms. Following treatment with ailanthone, Cell Counting kit‑8 was used to detect the cytotoxic effects of ailanthone on SGC‑7901 cells in vitro. The typical apoptotic morphology of SGC‑7901 cells was observed by Hoechst 33258 staining. Cell cycle progression and apoptosis were measured by flow cytometry, and the protein and mRNA expression levels of Bcl‑2 and Bax were analyzed by western blot analysis and reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‑qPCR) respectively, in SGC‑7901 cells. The results of the present study indicated that ailanthone inhibited the proliferation of SGC‑7901 cells in a dose‑ and time‑dependent manner in vitro, and also demonstrated that ailanthone induced G2/M phase cell cycle arrest and apoptosis of SGC‑7901 cells. Furthermore, analysis of the underlying molecular mechanisms revealed that ailanthone downregulated the expression levels of Bcl‑2, whereas the expression levels of Bax were upregulated at the protein and mRNA levels. In conclusion, ailanthone may inhibit the proliferation of SGC‑7901 cells by inducing G2/M phase cell cycle arrest and apoptosis via altering the protein and mRNA expression levels of Bcl‑2 and Bax in SGC‑7901 cells.

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