Resveratrol induces apoptosis in SGC-7901 gastric cancer cells

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of resveratrol on apoptosis in SGC-7901 gastric cancer cells and its molecular mechanisms of action. Following resveratrol treatment, the inhibition rate of SGC-7901 cells was determined using an MTT assay. The morphological changes in apoptosis were observed by fluorescence microscopy based on acridine orange/ethidium bromide double staining. Furthermore, cell cycle and apoptosis were detected using flow cytometry, and the expression levels of nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) as well as apoptosis-associated proteins [B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax), cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-8] were analyzed by western blotting. The results of the present study indicated that resveratrol was able to significantly inhibit the viability of SGC-7901 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. When treated with 200 µM resveratrol, the inhibition rate of SGC-7901 cells reached ~50%. In the presence of resveratrol, the proportion of apoptotic cells was also increased in a dose-dependent manner. Flow cytometry revealed that resveratrol induced S-phase arrest of SGC-7901 cells. When treated with 50, 200 and 400 µM resveratrol, the proportions of SGC-7901 cells in the S-phase were respectively increased to 33.8±2.42, 60.01±2.43 and 56.05±2.67%, compared with 25.62±3.29% for the control group cells in S-phase. Additionally, the levels of the pro-apoptotic proteins Bax, cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-8 were upregulated in a dose-dependent manner, whereas the level of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 was downregulated dose-dependently. Importantly, the activation of NF-κB (p65) was evidently decreased following treatment with resveratrol compared with in the control group. In conclusion, the results of the present study revealed that resveratrol was able to inhibit viability and induce apoptosis in SGC-7901 cells by suppressing NF-κB activation. Therefore, resveratrol may be considered as a potential drug candidate for the treatment of gastric cancer.