Combined or exclusive application of Genistein and 5-fluorouracil in inhibiting human gastric carcinoma cell line BGC-823 in vitro

Abstract:

Objective：To investigate whether combined application of Genistein（Gen） and 5-fluorouracil（5-FU） exerts synergistic ef－fect on growth inhibition of human gastric carcinoma cells BGC-823 and their possible mechanisms in vitro. Methods：Human gastric carcinoma cell line BGC-823 was exposed to Gen and 5-FU exclusively or in combination at different concentrations for 24，48 h and 72 h. 3-（4，5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl）-2，5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide（MTT） assay was employed to investigate the inhibitory effect of Gen and 5-FU，exclusively or in combination on BGC-823 cells. Furthermore，method of median-effect principle was utilized to quantitatively analyze the dose-effect relationship of the combined effects of Gen and 5-FU. Then，BGC-823 cells were exposed to Gen and 5-FU，exclusively or in combination for 72 h，the ultramicrostructure changes of cancer cells were observed by transmission electron microscopy（TEM） and the distribution of cell cycles was detected by flow cytometry（FCM）. Results：Combined or exclusive application of Gen and 5-FU exerted significant inhibitory effect on the proliferation of BGC-823 cells in both time and dose depen－dent manner. When inhibition rate（IR） exceeding 50%，combined application of Gen and 5-FU displayed synergistic effect on growth inhibition of BGC-823 cell line. Being exposed to 6.06 mg/L Gen，1.23 mg/L 5-FU and 0.81 mg/L Gen combined with 1.01 mg/L 5-FU for 72 h，95.74% BGC-823 cells were arrested at G2/M phases，58.26% and 41.59% BGC-823 cells were arrested at G0/G1 and S phases and 67.99% BGC-823 cells were arrested at G0/G1 phases，respectively. Gen and 5-FU，used exclusively or in combination，could induce apoptosis and arrest cell cycle of BGC-823 cells. Conclusions：Combined or exclusive application of Gen and 5-FU can suppress the proliferation of BGC-823 cells in vitro. Through arresting cell cycle and inducing cell apoptosis，combined application of Gen and 5-FU can inhibit the growth of BGC-823 cells. Combined application of Gen and 5-FU exerts synergistic effect on growth of human gastric carcinoma cells within certain range of concentration. The study provides evidences for the potential combined appli－cation of Gen and 5-FU in the treatment of human gastric cancer.