ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To screen the best combination of extractum of Robinia-living trametes and chemotherapy and investigate the action mechanism of Robinia-living trametes against the apoptosis of human gastric cancer cell MGC803. METHODS: MGC803 Cells were treated with different concentrations of Robinia-living trametes and chemotherapy drugs (5-Fu and paclitaxel) in vitro. The inhibitory rate of cells was measured by MTT assay. Morphological changes were observed with inverted microscope. The apoptosis rate of MGC803 cells which were treated with combination of Robinia-living trametes (0.2 mg·mL-1) and 5-Fu (2.5 μg·mL-1) was detected by FCM. The protein expression of P53 and p-Akt in MGC803 cells which were treated with combination of Robinia-living trametes (0.2 mg·mL-1) and 5-Fu (2.5 μg·mL-1) was detected by Western blot. RESULTS: The viability of MGC803 cells was reduced by Robinia-living trametes and chemotherapy drugs (5-Fu and paclitaxel) in a concentration- and time-dependent manner (P<0.01). Under reverse microscopy, cell body shrinking, nuclear pyrosis, and nuclear fragmentation were observed. The higher concentration, the longer treatment time, the more cells died. Compared with monotherapy, the combination of Robinia-living trametes and chemotherapy could reduce the survival rate of MGC803 cells. The protein expressions of P53 in MGC803 cells treated with combination of drugs was up-regulated, while that of P-Akt was down-regulated. CONCLUSION: The apoptosis of MGC803 cells in vitro may be induced by the inhibitory effect of the combination of Robinia-living trametes and 5-Fu on PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Combination therapy of Robinia-living trametes and 5-Fu is potentially more effective in inhibition of tumor cells than monotherapy of Robinia-living trametes.