ABSTRACT
Background and purpose:To investigate the induction of apoptosis by epigallocatechin-3-gallate(EGCG) in xenograft nude mice with human gastric cancer cells and its molecular mechanism. Methods:Human gastric cancer cells were planted into nude mice in order to establish the cancer model, the different dosages of EGCG were injected intraperitoneally in the nude mice. After treatment, flow cytometry (FCM) was used to detect the apoptosis of implanted tumor cells. Immunohistochemical staining was used to detect the expression of apoptosis-related genes like Bal-2 and Bax in implanted tumor.Results:EGCG significantly inhibited tumor growth after being injecting intraperitoneally in the nude mice. The apoptotic cells in implanted tumor could be detected by flow cytometry with PI staining. The expressions of Bax、Caspase-3 were upregulated and Bcl-2 expression was downregulated in implanted tumor.Conclusions:EGCG could significantly inhibit tumor growth in xenograft nude mice with human gastric cancer cells through inducing apoptosis. The down-regulation of Bcl-2 expression and up-regulation of Bax expression observed could result in the activation of Caspase-3, the pathway might account for the induction of apoptosis.