Effect of betulinic acid on proliferation of human gastric cancer MGC-803 cell line

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the effect of betulinic acid on the proliferation of human gastric cancer MGC-803 cells in vitro. Methods: Human gastric cancer MGC-803 cells were divided into 4 groups, each with 3 multiple holes. Control cells add betulinic acid at a concentration of 0 μg /ml, and the other three experimental groups were added with final concentration of 10, 20, 30 μg/ml Betulinic acid respectively. Cells in each group were incubated in a 5% CO2 incubator for 48 hours, and the Giemsa staining method and trypan blue exclusion method were used to detect the effect of betulinic acid on the cell clone formation rate and growth inhibition rate; EdU method and flow cytometry were used to detect cell proliferation and cell cycle changes; qRT-PCR and Western blot were used to detect the expressions of cell cycle regulators CCNB1 and CCND1. Results: Compared with the control group, the clone formation rate of human gastric cancer MGC-803 cells was significantly reduced (P＜0.01), the growth inhibition rate was significantly increased, and the cell proliferation ability was significantly decreased (P＜0.01); with the increase of betulinic acid concentration in each experimental group the proportion of cells in the G1 phase was gradually decreased, and the number of cells in S phase was increased significantly (P＜0.01); the mRNA and protein expression levels of cell cycle regulators CCNB1 and CCND1 were decreased significantly, and the 30 μg/ml betulinic acid treatment group performed best. Conclusion: At a final concentration of 10～30 μg/ml, betulinic acid can reduce the proliferation of human gastric cancer MGC-803 cells, inhibit cell growth, and down-regulate the expression of CCNB1 and CCND1 to block human gastric cancer MGC-803 cells in the S phase.