Inhibition of matrine against gastric cancer cell line MNK45 growth and its anti-tumor mechanism.

Anti-tumor activity and mechanism of matrine is evaluated and investigated. MTT assay showed that the matrine was able to inhibit gastric cancer cell line MNK45 in a dose-dependent manner. The concentration required for 50% inhibition (IC50) was found to be 540 μg/ml. This anti-tumor function was achieved through modulation of the NF-κB, XIAP, CIAP, and p-ERK proteins expression in cell line MNK45. By western blot analysis, we found that expression of NF-κB, XIAP, CIAP, and p-ERK proteins in cell line MNK45 would vary with varying concentration of matrine. These protein interactions possibly play a pivotal role in the regulation of apoptosis, for which further detailed analyzes are need. These results overall indicate that matrine can be used as an effective anti-tumor agent in therapy of gastric cancer.