In vitro and in vivo anti-tumor effects of a combination therapy of curcumin and celastrol to gastric cancer / 中成药

ABSTRACT

AIM To evaluate anti-gastric cancer effects and benefits of the combination therapy of celastrol and curcumin in vitro and in vivo.METHODS Curcumin,celastrol and curcumin + celastrol applied to BGC823 gastric cancer cells had their impact on the cells growth and apoptosis in vitro checked by CCK-8 assay and flow cytometry of AnnexinV-FITC/PI;and their in vivo anti-tumor effect,systemic toxicity,and influence to the survival time evaluated by using BGC823-bearing gastric tumor mouse models induced by subcutaneous implantation.RESULTS IC50 of curcumin,celastrol and curcumin + celastrol on BGC823 cell were found to be at (57.47 ± 5.22),(2.11 ±0.07) and (0.22 ±0.01) μmol/L,respectively.Curcumin + celastrol achieved a most optimal BGC823 cell apoptosis rate of (73.07 ±3.82)％ at concentrations of (10 mol/L +2 mol/L);and they left a positive impact on the BGC823 gastric tumor-bearing mice,given a (64.87 ±4.16)％ inhibitory rate,and a 50.5-day median survival time.Additionally,the combination therapy demonstrated its less side effects in terms of the body weight,spleen and liver of the nude mice,and significantly improved serum concentrations of TNF-α and IL-6.CONCLUSION Combination of curcumin and celastrol shows significantly synergistic anti-gastric cancer effects in vitro and in vivo.