Gastric Cancer
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2003. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Apr 15, 2003; 9(4): 660-664
Published online Apr 15, 2003. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v9.i4.660
Tributyrin inhibits human gastric cancer SGC-7901 cell growth by inducing apoptosis and DNA synthesis arrest
Jun Yan, Yong-Hua Xu
Jun Yan, Yong-Hua Xu, Lab of Molecular and Cellular Oncology and Lab of Molecular Cell Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Supported by the Major State Basic Research (973) Program of China, (G1999053905) and National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 30170207
Correspondence to: Dr. Yong-Hua Xu, Lab of Molecular and Cellular Oncology, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 320 Yue Yang Road, Shanghai 200031, China. yhxu@sunm.shcnc.ac.cn
Telephone: +86-21-54921361 Fax: +86-21-54921361
Received: October 9, 2002
Revised: October 27, 2002
Accepted: November 4, 2002
Published online: April 15, 2003
Abstract

AIM: To evaluate the effects of tributyrin, a pro-drug of natural butyrate and a neutral short-chain fatty acid triglyceride, on the growth inhibition of human gastric cancer SGC-7901 cell.

METHODS: Human gastric cancer SGC-7901 cells were exposed to tributyrin at 0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10 and 50 mmol·L-1 for 24-72 h. MTT assay was applied to detect the cell proliferation. [3H]-TdR uptake was measured to determine DNA synthesis. Apoptotic morphology was observed by electron microscopy and Hoechst-33258 staining. Flow cytometry and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay were performed to detect tributyrin-triggered apoptosis. The expressions of PARP, Bcl-2 and Bax were examined by Western blot assay.

RESULTS: Tributyrin could initiate growth inhibition of SGC-7901 cell in a dose- and time-dependent manner. [3H]-TdR uptake by SGC-7901 cells was reduced to 33.6% after 48 h treatment with 2 mmol·L-1 tributyrin, compared with the control (P < 0.05). Apoptotic morphology was detected by TUNEL assay. Flow cytometry revealed that tributyrin could induce apoptosis of SGC-7901 cells in dose-dependent manner. After 48 hours incubation with tributyrin at 2 mmol·L-1, the level of Bcl-2 protein was lowered, and the level of Bax protein was increased in SGC-7901, accompanied by PARP cleavage.

CONCLUSION: Tributyrin could inhibit the growth of gastric cancer cells effectively in vitro by inhibiting DNA synthesis and inducing apoptosis, which was associated with the down-regulated Bcl-2 expression and the up-regulated Bax expression. Therefore, tributyrin might be a promising chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agent against human gastric carcinogenesis.

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