Effects of Serum Containing Chinese Medicine Sanpi Pingwei (散癖平胃) Formula on Proliferation and Apoptosis of Human SGC-7901 Cells

Objective:To investigate the effects of serum containing Chinese medicine(CM) Sanpi Pingwei(散癖平胃,SPPW) formula on the proliferation and apoptosis of human SGC-7901 cells and the possible mechanism.Methods:Serum containing CM SPPW formula(SPPW serum) was prepared by a serum pharmacology method.Human SGC-7901 cells were incubated with SPPW serum at three different concentrations and with the anticancer drug 5-fluorouracil(5-FU),respectively.Cell proliferation was assessed by MTT assay,and cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry assay.Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) and Western blot assay were employed to confirm the expressions of Bcl-2,Bax and p53 in SGC-7901 cells at mRNA and protein levels,respectively.Results:SPPW serum suppressed the proliferation of SGC-7901 cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner.The colony forming rate of negative control was 48.2%,while those in the three SPPW serum groups and the 5-FU group decreased significantly (P<0.01).The number of colony forming units in the SPPW high dosage group was significantly smaller than that in the 5-FU group(P<0.01).MTT assay showed that SPPW serum restrained the proliferation of SGC-7901 cells,and the inhibition rate increased significantly in a dose-dependent manner.Annexin V/PI Assay suggested that SPPW serum induced the apoptosis of SGC-7901 cells significantly.RT-PCR and western blot assay indicated that SPPW serum upregulated the protein and mRNA expression levels of Bax and p53 in SGC-7901 cells,but downregulated the protein and mRNA expressions of Bcl-2.Conclusions:SPPW formula inhibits the proliferation of SGC-7901 cells in vitro and induces the cell apoptosis.It plays an anticancer role by regulating the expressions of Bax,p53 and Bcl-2 in SGC-7901 cells.