Anti-proliferative effect of Shenqi Fuzheng injection on gastric cancer cell line SGC7901 via STAT3 pathway

Abstract

Objective To study the effect of Shenqi Fuzheng injection on proliferation of gastric cancer cell line SGC7901, and to explore its mechanism associated with the STAT3 pathway. Methods The human gastric cancer cell line SGC7901 was used as the research object, the effects of different concentrations of Shenqi Fuzheng injection on the activity of SGC7901 cells were observed by MTT method, the levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8 and IL-11 were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the expressions of Janus kinase 2 (JAK2), STAT3 and phosphorylated-STAT3 (p-STAT3) were detected by Western blot. Results Compared with the control group, the activity of SGC7901 cells in the treatment group decreased significantly, and the concentration of Shenqi Fuzheng injection reached 0.1 mg/ml, the inhibitory rate of SGC7901 cells reached (10.8±0.7)%, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.01). With the increase of Shenqi Fuzheng injection concentration, the inhibition rate of SGC7901 cells increased gradually (F = 12.319, P = 0.000). Compared with the control group, with the increase of Shenqi Fuzheng injection concentration, IL-6, IL-8 and IL-11 contents were decreased in SGC7901 cells, the differences were statistically significant (IL-6: F = 31.256, P = 0.000; IL-8: F = 16.857, P = 0.000; IL-11: F = 21.319, P = 0.000); JAK2 and p-STAT3 protein levels were significantly reduced (JAK2: F = 12.315, P = 0.000; p-STAT3: F = 16.728, P = 0.000) in the treatment groups. Conclusion Shenqi Fuzheng injection can inhibit the proliferation of SGC7901 cells, and the mechanism may be related to the inhibition of STAT3 pathway. Key words: Stomach neoplasms; STAT3 transcription factor; Signal transduction; Shenqi Fuzheng injection