ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effect of tetrandrine (TET) on zinc finger protein 139 (ZNF139) and multidrug resistance (MDR) of human gastric carcinoma cell lines and possible mechanisms.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Cultured SGC7901 and SGC7901/ADR were treated with TET (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 microg/mL), then inhibition rates were measured by MTT assay in vitro. The expressions of ZNF139, MRP-1, MDR1, and GST-pi were detected by RT-PCR. The correlation between ZNF139 and each multidrug resistance factor was analyzed using Spearman correlation analysis, and the coefficient correlation was calculated.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The inhibition rate of TET (< or = 2.0 microg/mL) for SGC7901 and SGC7901/ADR was less than 10% with MTT assay. Expressions of ZNF139, MRP-1, MDR1, and GST-pi mRNA were higher in SGC7901/ADR than in SGC7901 (all P < 0.05). The expressions of ZNF139, MRP-1, MDR1, and GST--pi were down-regulated in SGC7901/ADR cells efficiently (all P < 0.01). Positive correlation existed between ZNF139 and MRP-1, ZNF139 and MDR1 before treated by TET in SGC7901/ADR, and this relationship also existed in SGC7901/ADR cells after treated by TET (all P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>TET could achieve MDR reversion in gastric cancer cells by down-regulating the expression of ZNF139, MRP-1, and MDR1.</p>