The effects of aspirin plus cisplatin on SGC7901/CDDP cells in vitro

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of aspirin plus cisplatin (CDDP) in the chemotherapy of gastric cancer. We cultured SGC7901/CDDP cells by long-term exposure of SGC7901 cells to small doses of CDDP in vitro. The cells were treated with aspirin, CDDP or aspirin plus CDDP for 24 h and cell growth was assessed by the MTT assay, the apoptotic rate by flow cytometry, the survivin mRNA expression by RT-PCR and the survivin protein expression by western blotting. The results revealed that the cell growth in the aspirin plus CDDP group was significantly inhibited. The apoptotic rate in the aspirin plus CDDP was significantly higher compared to that in the other groups. The survivin mRNA and protein expression were also significantly reduced in the aspirin plus CDDP group. Our data suggest that the combination of aspirin and CDDP exhibited a higher degree of toxicity against SGC7901/CDDP cells compared to that of aspirin or CDDP alone. Thus, the combination of aspirin plus CDDP may reduce the expression of survivin and induce the apoptosis of SGC7901/CDDP cells.