Berberine Suppressed Tumor Growth through Regulating Fatty Acid Metabolism and Triggering Cell Apoptosis via Targeting FABPs

AIM: To further investigate the mechanism behind the antitumor properties of berberine regarding lipid metabolism. METHODS: Cell viability, proliferation, and apoptosis assays were performed to determine the antigrowth effects of berberine in vitro. Ectopic xenograft models in Balb/c nude mice were established to determine the antitumor effects of berberine in vivo. RESULTS: Berberine inhibited cell viability and proliferation of MGC803 human gastric cancer cell lines in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Berberine induced apoptosis of MGC803 and increased the apoptotic rate with higher doses. Berberine induced the accumulation of fatty acid of MGC803 and suppressed the protein expression of FABPs and PPARα. The FABP inhibitor BMS309403 recapitulated the effects of berberine on MGC803 cells. In the xenograft model, berberine significantly decreased the tumor volume and tumor weight and induced apoptosis in tumor tissues. Berberine significantly elevated the fatty acid content and inhibited the expression of FABPs and PPARα in the MGC803 xenograft models. CONCLUSION: Berberine exerted anticancer effects on human gastric cancer both in vitro and in vivo by inducing apoptosis, which was due to the reduced protein expression of FABPs and the accumulation of fatty acid.