Lycorine hydrochloride inhibits cell proliferation and induces apoptosis through promoting FBXW7-MCL1 axis in gastric cancer

Abstract

Abstract Background Lycorine hydrochloride (LH), an alkaloid extracted from the bulb of the Lycoris radiata, is considered to have anti-viral, anti-malarial, and anti-tumorous effects. At present, the underlying mechanisms of LH in gastric cancer remain unclear. MCL1, an anti-apoptotic protein of BCL2 family, is closely related to drug resistance of tumor. Therefore, MCL1 is considered as a potential target for cancer treatment. Methods The effect of LH on gastric cancer was assessed in vitro (by MTT, BrdU, western blotting…) and in vivo (by immunohistochemistry). Results In this study, we showed that LH has an anti-tumorous effect by down-regulating MCL1 in gastric cancer. Besides, we unveiled that LH reduced the protein stability of MCL1 by up-regulating ubiquitin E3 ligase FBXW7, arrested cell cycle at S phase and triggered apoptosis of gastric cancer cells. Meanwhile, we also demonstrated that LH could induce apoptosis of the BCL2-drug-resistant-cell-lines. Moreover, PDX (Patient-Derived tumor xenograft) model experiment proved that LH combined with HA14–1 (inhibitor of BCL2), had a more significant therapeutic effect on gastric cancer. Conclusions The efficacy showed in our data suggests that lycorine hydrochloride is a promising anti-tumor compound for gastric cancer.

Keywords

• Gastric cancer
• Lycorine hydrochloride
• MCL1
• FBXW7
• Apoptosis
• Cell cycle