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Anti-tumor activity of the X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis (XIAP) inhibitor embelin in gastric cancer cells

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Abstract

This study investigated the anticancer effects of embelin in human gastric cancer cells and the underlying molecular mechanisms. Gastric cancer cells were treated with embelin and 5-FU for methyl-thiazolyl-tetrazolium bromide cell viability assay and flow cytometric detection of cell viability and apoptosis. Protein pathway array (PPA) and Western blot were used to investigate differentially expressed proteins in embelin-treated gastric cancer cells. Embelin reduced gastric cancer cell viability, induced apoptosis, and enhanced 5-FU antitumor activity in gastric cancer cells. Mechanistically, embelin induced cell cycle arrest at the S and G2/M phases. Molecularly, embelin downregulated expression of X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis and cell cycle-regulatory proteins, such as CDK1, CDC25B, CDC25C, cyclinB1, and CDK2. PPA analysis showed that embelin modulated several pathways that are associated with cell growth and apoptosis, such as PI3K/AKT, JAK/STAT, p38 MAPK, and p53. The data from the current study implied that reduction of gastric cancer cell viability after treatment with embelin was through cell cycle arrest at the S and G2/M phases and apoptosis.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Dr. Goutham Narla of the Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Mount Sinai School of Medicine (New York, NY, USA), for gastric cancer cell line NCI-N87 (gastric carcinoma) and Mr. Yang Li for his excellent technical training in protein preparation. The study was supported in part by funding from The First Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun, China.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of General Surgery, The First Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, China

    Da-Guang Wang, Wei Li, Punyaram Kharbuja & Jian Suo

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, The First Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, China

    Ya-Bin Sun

  3. Department of Pathology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10029, USA

    Fei Ye & David Y. Zhang

  4. Department of Cancer Center, The First Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun, 130021, Jilin, China

    Ling Gao

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  1. Da-Guang Wang
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Correspondence to David Y. Zhang or Jian Suo.

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Da-Guang Wang and Ya-Bin Sun contributed equally to this work.

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Wang, DG., Sun, YB., Ye, F. et al. Anti-tumor activity of the X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis (XIAP) inhibitor embelin in gastric cancer cells. Mol Cell Biochem 386, 143–152 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-013-1853-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11010-013-1853-x

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