Cre-loxP-mediated bax gene activation reduces growth rate and increases sensitivity to chemotherapeutic agents in human gastric cancer cells.

Dysregulation of apoptosis may be closely related to the development of cancer and its chemoresistance. Overexpression of Bax, an inducer of apoptosis, has led to increased cell death in a variety of cancer cell lines. In this study, we investigated the effect of Bax overexpression in two gastric cancer cell lines, MKN-28 and MKN-45, using a Cre-loxP-mediated inducible expression system. After induction of bax, both cell lines showed decreased proliferation, partially due to increased cell death. Furthermore, Bax-expressing MKN-28 cells were more sensitive to cisplatin. These results indicate that up-regulation of the bax gene may provide a novel strategy for the treatment of gastric cancer.