Published online Oct 15, 2003. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v9.i10.2362
Revised: April 7, 2003
Accepted: April 14, 2003
Published online: October 15, 2003
AIM: To investigate the antiproliferative effect of octreotide, a long-acting analogue of somatostatin, on gastric cancer cell line SGC7901 and its possible molecular mechanisms.
METHODS: Gastric cancer cell line SGC7901 employed in the study was treated with 0.008, 0.04, 0.2, 1, 5 and 25 μg·mL-1 of octreotide respectively for 24 h to evaluate the antiproliferative effect of somatostatin analog on the tumor cells by MTT assay method. To elucidate the underlying mechanism, the cells were exposed to 1 μg·mL-1 of octreotide for 0, 12, 24 and 48 h, when their Akt/PKB and telomerase activities were respectively determined using PCR-ELSIA and nonradioactive protein kinase assay protocols. The same experimental procedures were also performed in the control cells that were treated with corresponding vehicles instead of somatostatin analog.
RESULTS: After exposed to octreotide for 24 h at the concentrations of more than 1 μg·mL-1, SGC7901 cells exhibited a dose-dependent inhibition of growth with the inhibiting rate to be as high as 34.66% when 25 μg·mL-1 of octreotide was applied. The Akt/PKB and telomerase activity of SGC7901 cells was significantly inhibited when the cells were exposed to 1 μg·mL-1 of octreotide for 12, 24 and 48 h compared with that of their control counterparts (P < 0.01), both of which exhibited in a time-dependent manner.
CONCLUSION: The antiproliferative effect of octreotide on SGC7901 cells might be mediated by the inhibition of Akt/PKB and telomerase.