ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo observe the effect of Jianpi Yangzheng Xiaozheng decoction （JYXD） on the proliferation and stemness of the human gastric cancer （GC） cell line HGC-27 by inhibiting aerobic glycolysis， and explore the underlying mechanism. MethodMethyl thiazolyl tetrazolium （MTT） assay was employed to determine the survival rate and chemotherapy sensitivity of HGC-27 cells treated with JYXD （0.25， 0.5， 1， 2， 4， 8， 16， 32 g·L-1）. Colony formation assay was employed to detect the effect of JYXD （2， 4， 8 g·L-1） on the colony formation of the cells. The aerobic glycolysis level of HGC-27 cells after treatment with JYXD was measured by glucose assay kit and lactic acid assay kit. The proportion of stem cell subsets in HGC-27 cells was detected by flow cytometry. Western blot was employed to determine the expression of glycolysis-associated proteins such as lactate dehydrogenase （LDH）， hexokinase 2 （HK2）， glucose transporter 1 （GLUT1）， and pyruvate kinase isozyme M2 （PKM2）， and the expression of stemness-associated proteins such as octamer-binding transcription factor 4 （OCT4）， SRY-box transcription factor 2 （SOX2）， and Nanog. ResultJYXD （0.5， 1， 2， 4， 8， 16， 32 g·L-1） inhibited the activity of HGC-27 cells （P<0.05， P<0.01）， with the inhibitory concentration 50（IC50） of 4.83 g·L-1， and it improved the sensitivity of HGC-27 cells to cisplatin chemotherapy. Compared with the control group， JYXD （2， 4， 8 g·L-1） reduced the colony formation number of HGC-27 cells （P<0.01） in a concentration-dependent manner. Flow cytometry showed that compared with that in the control group， the proportion of CD44+CD24+ALDH+ population in the cells treated with JYXD （2， 4， 8 g·L-1） decreased （P<0.05）. In addition， JYXD （2， 4， 8 g·L-1） inhibited the glucose uptake and lactic acid production of HGC-27 cells. Western blot showed that compared with the control group， JYXD （2， 4， 8 g·L-1） down-regulated the expression levels of SOX2， Nanog， OCT4， PKM2， LDH， GLUT1， and HK2 （P<0.05， P<0.01） in a concentration-dependent manner. ConclusionJYXD may inhibit the proliferation and reduce the stemness of HGC-27 cells by regulating the aerobic glycolysis.