Low abundance of TFPI-2 by both promoter methylation and miR-27a-3p regulation is linked with poor clinical outcome in gastric cancer.

BACKGROUND: The tumor suppressor role of tissue factor pathway inhibitor 2 (TFPI-2) has been reported in various tumors. The present study aimed to improve the understanding of the oncogenic properties of TFPI-2 in gastric cancer. METHODS: Relative expression of TFPI-2 was determined by a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and western blotting, respectively. Cell viability was measured via a cell counting kit-8 assay and proliferation was evaluated by a colony formation assay. Cell apoptosis was assessed with a caspase-3 activity kit and invasion was evaluated by a transwell chamber assay. The methylation level of TFPI-2 promoter was assayed by methylation-specific PCR. The regulatory effect of miR-27a-3p on TFPI-2 was analyzed with a luciferase reporter assay. The direct association between miR-27a-3p and TFPI-2 was shown by biotin-labelling pulldown. RESULTS: TFPI-2 was down-regulated in gastric cancer, which associated with an unfavorable prognosis clinically. Ectopic introduction of TFPI-2 greatly compromised cell viability, colony formation and invasive capacity, and also induced cell apoptosis simultaneously. The promoter region of TFPI-2 was extensively methylated in gastric cancer tissues compared to normal tissues, suggesting the epigenetic inhibition of TFPI-2 expression. We further identified that TFPI-2 functioned as sponge RNA against miR-27a-3p. Most importantly, miR-27a-3p-specific inhibitor significantly exerted a tumor suppressor function akin to TFPI-2 itself, and the anti-tumoral activities were completely abolished by TFPI-2 knockdown. CONCLUSIONS: We found that the epigenetically suppressed TFPI-2 compromised sponging effects with respect to miR-27a-3p in gastric cancer, which consequently and mechanistically contributed to the tumor biology of gastric cancer.

Astragalus extract inhibits proliferation but enhances apoptosis in gastric cancer.

We and others have shown that Astragalus extract (AE) regulates various cellular processes including inflammation and apoptosis. It remains elusive whether and how AE modulates apoptosis in gastric cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. The objective of this study is to determine the effects and mechanisms of AE on the proliferation and apoptosis of human gastric cancer SGC-7901 cells and on tumor growth in orthotopic transplantation gastric tumor model in nude mice. Human gastric adenocarcinoma SGC-7901 cells and nude mice implanted with gastric cancer cells were treated with different concentration of AE and 5-fluorouracil as control. Cellular proliferation, apoptosis and tumor growth as well as interleukin (IL)-6/signal transducer and activator of transcription (Stat) 3 signals pathway were determined. We found that AE inhibited proliferation but caused apoptosis in human gastric cancer cells. Furthermore, the tumor growth and volume were reduced by AE administration in nude mice implanted with gastric cancer cells. In addition, treatments with AE decreased the expression of Bcl-2 proteins, whereas the expression of Bax was increased after AE treatment in tumor tissues of nude mice transplanted with human gastric cancer cells. This was associated with AE-mediated reduction of IL-6, phosphorylated Stat3, survivin and vascular endothelial growth factor. Overall, AE enhances apoptosis in gastric cancer cells in vitro and in vivo, which is associated with decreased activation of IL-6/Stat3 signals.

Omeprazole promotes carcinogenesis of fore-stomach in mice with co-stimulation of nitrosamine.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate if oral omeprazole application induces cancers of fore and glandular stomach in mice. METHODS: A total of 66 eligible male mice were randomly divided into 6 groups, which were treated with control reagent, low (6 mg/kg) and high dose omeprazole (30 mg/kg), N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG, 100 mg/L water), and MNNG plus low and high dose omeprazole, respectively. After 24 weeks, concentrations of acid phosphatase (ACP) and N-acetyl-ß-D-glucosaminidase(NAG) in serum and spleen was examined, and p21 and mTOR levels in stomach were detected. RESULTS: The mouse spleen weight index was smaller in the omeprazole group than the control group, and in the MNNG plus omeprazole groups than the MNNG group. In the fore-stomach, more carcinomas were observed in the MNNG plus omeprazole groups than in the MNNG group. In the glandular stomach, there existed more atypical hyperplasia cases in the MNNG plus omeprazole groups than the MNNG-treated group, and one carcinoma was induced in the MNNG plus high dose omeprazole group. Omeprazole alone caused minor gastric pathological changes. Omeprazole treatment lowered both serum and spleen ACP and NAG levels in both the non-MNNG-treated and MNNG-treated subgroups. In fore-stomach, there existed decreased p21 and mTOR levels in the omeprazole-treated groups than in the control group, and in the MNNG plus omeprazole groups than the MNNG-treated group. CONCLUSION: Omeprazole promotes carcinogenesis of the mouse fore-stomach but not the glandular stomach following treatment with MNNG. Lysosomal hydrolase activity was inhibited and some cancer-associated proteins was dysregulated, which requires further explorations.