• Ji Sun Kim, Seung Jae Shin, Jung Nam Kim, Min Ji Kwon, Eun Yeong Lim, Yun Tai Kim, Hyungwoo Kim, and Byung Joo Kim.
• Division of Longevity and Biofunctional Medicine, Pusan National University School of Korean Medicine, Yangsan, Gyeongosangnam‑do 50612, Republic of Korea.
• Mol Med Rep. 2019 Mar 1; 19 (3): 1911-1918.

AbstractTraditional herbal medicines are being increasingly used worldwide to treat cancer. Radix Sophorae Flavescentis (RSF) is a Chinese herb, which has numerous pharmacological properties, including anti‑tumour effects. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms underlying RSF‑induced apoptosis in human gastric cancer cells (AGS cells). We found that RSF treatment (20‑200 µg/ml) inhibited the proliferation of AGS cells and increased the sub‑G1 phase ratio. RSF‑induced cell death was associated with the downregulation of BCl‑2 and upregulation of Bax. In addition to increasing the expression levels of apoptosis‑mediating surface antigen FAS and Fas ligand, RSF also activated caspase‑3; however, mitogen‑activated protein kinase appeared to inhibit RSF‑induced cell death. RSF also led to an increased production of reactive oxygen species. Based on these results, we propose that RSF could be a potential therapeutic agent for gastric cancer.

34 keywords...

hide…