Drug Design, Development and Therapy (Jan 2020)
Aloin Inhibits the Proliferation and Migration of Gastric Cancer Cells by Regulating NOX2–ROS-Mediated Pro-Survival Signal Pathways
Abstract
Ziqian Wang, 1, 2 Tuo Tang, 1, 2 Shengnan Wang, 1, 2 Tianyu Cai, 1, 2 Hong Tao, 1, 2 Qing Zhang, 1, 2 Shimei Qi, 1, 2 Zhilin Qi 1, 2 1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, Anhui 241002, People’s Republic of China; 2Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Active Biological Macro-Molecules, Wannan Medical College, Wuhu, Anhui 241002, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Zhilin QiDepartment of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Wannan Medical College, 22 Wenchang West Road, Wuhu, Anhui 241002, People’s Republic of ChinaEmail [email protected]: Aloin has been reported to have many pharmacological effects including anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and anti-tumour activities. However, the precise molecular mechanisms underlying the anti-tumour properties of aloin are yet to be elucidated.Methods: HGC-27 and BGC-823 gastric cancer cells were treated with aloin. EdU and colony formation assays were used to detect the proliferation ability of cells. The migration of cells was detected using wound healing and transwell assays. Western blotting was used to detect the levels of cyclinD1, cyclin E1, MMPs, N-cadherin, E-cadherin and NOX2. The phosphorylation of Akt, mTOR, P70S6K, S6, Src, stat3 and IκBα were also detected by Western blotting. Flow cytometry was used to detect the cell cycle distribution.The location of p65 in cells was determined by using a confocal microscopy assay. The total amounts of ROS present in cells were measured using an ROS assay kit.Results: Here, we found that aloin inhibited the proliferation and migration of HGC-27 and BGC-823 gastric cancer cells using a combination of EdU, colony formation, wound healing and transwell assays. Further investigations revealed that aloin decreased the protein expression levels of cyclin D1, N-cadherin, and the matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-2 and MMP-9; increased E-cadherin expression in a dose-dependent manner; inhibited reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation; and mediated the activation of Akt-mTOR, signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 (Stat3), and NF-κB signalling pathways. Our results also indicated that aloin is able to attenuate the expression levels of the two regulatory proteins of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase 2 (NOX2), p47phox and p22phox, but had no effect on the level of gp91phox. N-acetylcysteine treatment of gastric cancer cells inhibited ROS production and Akt-mTOR, Stat3, and IκBα phosphorylation. Taken together, our data suggest that aloin inhibits the proliferation and migration of gastric cancer cells by downregulating NOX2–ROS-mediated activation of the Akt-mTOR, Stat3, and NF-κB signalling pathways.Conclusion: Our findings suggest a potential role for aloin in the prevention of gastric cancer cell proliferation and migration and provide novel insights into the anti-cancer properties of aloin.Keywords: aloin, gastric cancer, proliferation, migration, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase 2, reactive oxygen species
