Experimental study on Qizhu formula for modulating survivin, an inhibitor of apoptosis, in MGC-803 gastric cancer cells.

The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism of action of Qizhu formula, a Chinese medicinal empirical formula, in modulating the action of survivin, an inhibitor of apoptosis, in MGC-803 gastric cancer cells. Western blot analysis and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were applied to detect the effect of varying concentrations of Qizhu formula in the modulation of the expression of survivin in MGC-803 human gastric adenocarcinoma cells. The western blot analysis results demonstrated that Qizhu formula exerted no significant effects on the protein expression of the β-actin housekeeping gene, whereas it exerted a significant inhibitory effect on the protein expression of the apoptosis-related survivin gene at concentrations of 250 μg/ml and, particularly, 500 μg/ml. RT-PCR was used to detect the effect of Qizhu formula on survivin mRNA in MGC-803 human gastric adenocarcinoma cells. The ratio of survivin/β-actin in the 0.1% dimethylsulfoxide and the 125, 250 and 500 μg/ml groups of Qizhu formula was 0.4543, 0.4025, 0.2415 and 0.2235, respectively. Therefore, Qizhu formula exerted a distinct inhibitory effect on the mRNA expression of survivin in MGC-803 cells in a dose-dependent manner. In conclusion, Qizhu formula may modulate the apoptosis of MGC-803 human gastric adenocarcinoma cells, which is associated with the downregulation of survivin mRNA and protein expression.