Narciclasine induces autophagy-mediated apoptosis in gastric cancer cells through the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway

BMC Pharmacology and Toxicology

Xinyuan Shi¹  Yueliang Tang²  Huiming Deng²  Yunfeng Yuan³  Yan Liu³  Xiang Li³  Xue He³ 

[1] Department of Gastroenterology, Taizhou First People’s Hospital;Department of General Surgery, Zengcheng District People’s Hospital of Guangzhou;Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, Chongqing Three Gorges Central Hospital, Chongqing University Three Gorges Hospital;

关键词: Narciclasine;    Gastric cancer;    Autophagy;    Apoptosis;    Akt/mTOR pathway;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40360-021-00537-3

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Abstract Background Gastric cancer is a common gastrointestinal cancer and currently has the third-highest mortality rate. Research shows that the natural compound narciclasine has a variety of biological activities. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of narciclasine on gastric cancer cells and its molecular mechanisms and determine whether this compound could be a novel therapy for gastric cancer. Methods MTT and clone assays were employed to detect the proliferation of gastric cancer cells. The cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry. The formation of autophagosomes and autophagosomal lysosomes was observed by transmission electron microscopy and laser confocal scanning microscopy. Western blotting was used to detect the expression of apoptosis, autophagy and Akt/mTOR pathway-related proteins. Results In this study, we found that narciclasine could inhibit the proliferation of gastric cancer cells and promote apoptosis in gastric cancer cells. Further experiments showed that narciclasine promoted the levels of autophagy proteins LC3-II, Atg-5 and Beclin-1, reduced the expression of the autophagy transporter p62, and increased autophagic flux. By using the autophagy inhibitors 3-MA and CQ, it was shown that narciclasine could induce autophagy-mediated apoptosis in gastric cancer cells. Finally, we found that narciclasine had no significant effects on the total content of Akt and mTOR in gastric cancer cells, and it involved autophagy in gastric cancer cells by reducing the phosphorylation level of p-Akt and p-mTOR. Conclusions Narciclasine can induce autophagy-dependent apoptosis in gastric cancer cells by inhibiting the phosphorylation level of Akt/mTOR and thus reduce the proliferation of gastric cancer cells.

【 授权许可】

Unknown