Suppression of gastric cancer by extract from the tuber of amorphophallus konjac via induction of apoptosis and autophagy

  • Authors:
    • Xi Chen
    • Lin-Qing Yuan
    • Lin-Jie Li
    • Yao Lv
    • Pei-Feng Chen
    • Lei Pan
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: June 22, 2017     https://doi.org/10.3892/or.2017.5747
  • Pages: 1051-1058
Metrics: Total Views: 0 (Spandidos Publications: | PMC Statistics: )
Total PDF Downloads: 0 (Spandidos Publications: | PMC Statistics: )


Abstract

The tuber of amorphophallus konjac (TuAK) is an antitumor herb used in traditional Chinese medicine. The present study investigated the inhibitory effect of TuAK against gastric cancer and the underlying mechanisms associated with two programmed cell death pathways, apoptosis and autophagy. TuAK was extracted by organic solvents including ethanol and ligarine. The extract of TuAK, shortened as TuAKe, significantly inhibited the growth of cultured gastric cancer cell lines SGC-7901 and AGS, with IC50 of 35-45 µg/ml. TuAKe could increase cell apoptosis and induce cell cycle arrest. For the apoptosis-associated proteins, expressions of survivin and Bcl-2 were decreased by treatment of TuAKe, and the expression of Bax and caspase-9 was increased. Furthermore, TuAKe could promote autophagy, and the antitumor efficacy of TuAKe was significantly hampered by targeted suppression of autophagy, suggesting that autophagy contributed to TuAKe-induced cell death. Furthermore, patients with gastric cancer who received TuAK-based medicinal decoction achieved improved scores in assessment of life quality compared with those without TuAK treatment. This study demonstrated the antitumor activity of TuAKe against gastric cancer, and is the first report to show that the underlying mechanism is associated with induction of autophagy. Our data provided support of the clinical use of amorphophallus konjac-based medication in combination with classical chemotherapy to achieve optimized outcome for gastric cancer.
View Figures
View References

Related Articles

Journal Cover

August-2017
Volume 38 Issue 2

Print ISSN: 1021-335X
Online ISSN:1791-2431

Sign up for eToc alerts

Recommend to Library

Copy and paste a formatted citation
x
Spandidos Publications style
Chen X, Yuan L, Li L, Lv Y, Chen P and Pan L: Suppression of gastric cancer by extract from the tuber of amorphophallus konjac via induction of apoptosis and autophagy. Oncol Rep 38: 1051-1058, 2017
APA
Chen, X., Yuan, L., Li, L., Lv, Y., Chen, P., & Pan, L. (2017). Suppression of gastric cancer by extract from the tuber of amorphophallus konjac via induction of apoptosis and autophagy. Oncology Reports, 38, 1051-1058. https://doi.org/10.3892/or.2017.5747
MLA
Chen, X., Yuan, L., Li, L., Lv, Y., Chen, P., Pan, L."Suppression of gastric cancer by extract from the tuber of amorphophallus konjac via induction of apoptosis and autophagy". Oncology Reports 38.2 (2017): 1051-1058.
Chicago
Chen, X., Yuan, L., Li, L., Lv, Y., Chen, P., Pan, L."Suppression of gastric cancer by extract from the tuber of amorphophallus konjac via induction of apoptosis and autophagy". Oncology Reports 38, no. 2 (2017): 1051-1058. https://doi.org/10.3892/or.2017.5747