Mechanism of oxymatrine-induced human esophageal cancer cell apoptosis by the endoplasmic reticulum stress pathway

• Main Authors: Wang Baiyan, Zhou Huiru, Zhu Yanqin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: De Gruyter 2018-04-01
• Series: Open Life Sciences
• Subjects: oxymatrine; human esophageal carcinoma eca-109 cells; binding immunoglobulin protein; ccaat-enhancer-binding protein homologous protein
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1515/biol-2018-0016

Endoplasmic reticulum stress is one of the mechanisms of cell apoptosis. In this study, the mechanism of oxymatrine-induced human esophageal cancer Eca-109 cell apoptosis by the endoplasmic reticulum stress pathway was investigated. Eca-109 cells were cultured in vitro with different doses of oxymatrine (0.5, 1, 2 μg/mL) for 48 h. The cell viability and proliferation inhibition rate were examined by MTT assay and cell cycle assay. The apoptosis rate was examined by Annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide assay. The expression of endoplasmic reticulum stress markers, including binding immunoglobulin protein and CCAAT-enhancer-binding protein homologous protein, were determined by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting, respectively. MTT data showed that oxymatrine significantly inhibited the proliferation of Eca-109 cells. The cell apoptosis rate was quantified by flow cytometry. The expression of binding immunoglobulin protein was markedly downregulated in oxymatrine-treated Eca-109 cells while that of CCAAT-enhancer-binding protein homologous protein was upregulated. Oxymatrine inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis of human esophageal carcinoma Eca-109 cells. Thus, oxymatrine may be a potential agent for treating human esophageal cancer.