Albumin Paclitaxel Compared with 5-Penfluorouracil, Lobaplatin, and Albumin Paclitaxel Combined with 5-Penfluorouracil in the Treatment of Human Gastric Cancer Cell AGS Line Autophagy and Apoptosis

BACKGROUND: Gastric cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in the world. Albumin paclitaxel (Nab-PTX) is a novel microtubule inhibitor with albumin as the carrier. Several clinical trials are underway in gastric cancer, but the autophagy mechanism of Nab-PTX on gastric cancer is still unclear. The autophagy and apoptosis effects of Nab-PTX compared with 5-pentafluorouracil (5-Fu) and lobaplatin (LBP) in gastric cancer are also unclear. OBJECTIVE: This article will compare the effects of Nab-PTX, 5-Fu, LBP, and albumin paclitaxel + 5-pentafluorouracil (Nab-PTX + 5-Fu) on AGS cells from the perspective of autophagy and apoptosis, which is to provide new ideas and experimental evidence for gastric cancer. METHOD: (1) Experimental groups were control (Ctrl), Nab-PTX, 5-Fu, LBP, and Nab-PTX + 5-Fu. (2) CCK-8 assay was used to reflect cell viability and proliferation. (3) The flow cytometry was used to perform the 24-hour apoptosis and cell cycle of each group. (4) Western blot assay was used to investigate autophagy signal proteins LC3I/LC3II, LC3II/LC3I, SQSTM1/p62, Beclin-1, Atg12, Atg5, p-mULK1, p-AMPK, p-mTOR, and apoptosis signal proteins Bax and Bcl-2. RESULTS: Nab-PTX, 5-Fu, LBP, and Nab-PTX + 5-Fu inhibited AGS cells' proliferation and arrested the cell cycle. At the same time, each group increased the apoptosis of AGS cells to various degrees (Nab-PTX + 5-Fu > Nab-PTX > 5-Fu > LBP, respectively). The experimental results showed that Nab-PTX and Nab-PTX + 5-Fu promoted autophagy and apoptosis of AGS cells. The comparison of Nab-PTX, 5-Fu, and LBP between groups revealed that 5-Fu inhibited autophagy and the expression of apoptosis protein Bax. In LBP, abnormal activation of autophagy downstream, blocking of autophagy flow, abnormal increase of ATG12, and increased expression of apoptosis protein Bax occurred. Further study found that the autophagy upstream mechanism is different. CONCLUSION: Nab-PTX, 5-Fu, LBP, and Nab-PTX + 5-Fu can inhibit cell proliferation, promote cell apoptosis, and induce the difference in autophagy expression. The autophagy difference of this antitumor drug may be related to its inducing apoptosis. Meanwhile, Nab-PTX has a better antitumor effect than 5-Fu and LBP in gastric cancer, and the combination of Nab-PTX + 5-Fu has more antitumor advantages.