Cytotoxic effect of evodiamine in SGC-7901 human gastric adenocarcinoma cells via simultaneous induction of apoptosis and autophagy

  • Authors:
    • Azhar Rasul
    • Bo Yu
    • Lili Zhong
    • Muhammad Khan
    • Hong Yang
    • Tonghui Ma
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: February 21, 2012     https://doi.org/10.3892/or.2012.1694
  • Pages: 1481-1487
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Abstract

Evodiamine, an alkaloid isolated from Evodia rutaecarpa, possesses potent anticancer activity. Although many reports have elucidated the cytotoxic effects of evodiamine in a variety of cancer cells, little is known about the mechanism of evodiamine-induced cytotoxic activity in gastric cancer cells. To date, no report has addressed the synchronized role of autophagy and apoptosis in evodiamine-induced cytotoxic activity. This study was conducted to investigate the synchronized role of autophagy and apoptosis in evodiamine-induced cytotoxic activity on SGC-7901 human gastric adenocarcinoma cells and further to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms. The MTT assay was used to examine the cytotoxicity of evodiamine against SGC-7901 gastric adenocarcinoma cells. The effects of evodiamine on the cell cycle and apoptosis were measured by flow cyto­metry and cellular morphology was observed under a phase contrast microscope. Acridine orange (AO) staining was used to detect autophagy. The expression levels of Bcl-2 and Bax were detected by Western blotting. The expression level of Beclin‑1 in SGC-7901 cells was monitored by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Here, we found that evodiamine significantly inhibited the proliferation of SGC-7901 cells and induced G2/M phase cell cycle arrest. Furthermore, both autophagy and apoptosis were activated during the evodiamine-induced death of SGC-7901 cells. Evodiamine-induced autophagy is partially involved in the death of SGC-7901 cells which was confirmed by using the autophagy inhibitor 3-methyladenine (3-MA). Additionally, Beclin-1 is involved in evodiamine-induced autophagy and the pro-apoptotic mechanisms of evodiamine may be associated with down-regulation of Bcl-2 and up-regulation of Bax expression. The inhibitory effects on SGC-7901 cells were associated with apoptosis, autophagy and cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that evodiamine is an effective natural compound for the treatment of gastric cancer and may represent a candidate for in vivo studies of monotherapies or combined antitumor therapies.

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May 2012
Volume 27 Issue 5

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

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Spandidos Publications style
Rasul A, Yu B, Zhong L, Khan M, Yang H and Ma T: Cytotoxic effect of evodiamine in SGC-7901 human gastric adenocarcinoma cells via simultaneous induction of apoptosis and autophagy. Oncol Rep 27: 1481-1487, 2012.
APA
Rasul, A., Yu, B., Zhong, L., Khan, M., Yang, H., & Ma , T. (2012). Cytotoxic effect of evodiamine in SGC-7901 human gastric adenocarcinoma cells via simultaneous induction of apoptosis and autophagy. Oncology Reports, 27, 1481-1487. https://doi.org/10.3892/or.2012.1694
MLA
Rasul, A., Yu, B., Zhong, L., Khan, M., Yang, H., Ma , T."Cytotoxic effect of evodiamine in SGC-7901 human gastric adenocarcinoma cells via simultaneous induction of apoptosis and autophagy". Oncology Reports 27.5 (2012): 1481-1487.
Chicago
Rasul, A., Yu, B., Zhong, L., Khan, M., Yang, H., Ma , T."Cytotoxic effect of evodiamine in SGC-7901 human gastric adenocarcinoma cells via simultaneous induction of apoptosis and autophagy". Oncology Reports 27, no. 5 (2012): 1481-1487. https://doi.org/10.3892/or.2012.1694