Enhanced anticancer effect of ABT-737 in combination with naringenin on gastric cancer cells.

Gastric cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-associated mortality and is a frequently occurring cancer worldwide. Multiple drug resistance of gastric cancer cells leads to the poor prognosis. In addition, overexpression of anti-apoptotic protein B-cell lymphoma (Bcl)-2 have been demonstrated in various cancer cells and is closely associated with drug resistance and poor prognosis. Naringenin is a flavonoid that has antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic activities in numerous cancer types. In the present study, naringenin and a Bcl-2 inhibitor, ABT-737, were used to investigate their combinative anticancer effect in the SGC7901 gastric cancer cell line. The results revealed that naringenin and ABT-737 were able to inhibit SGC7901 cell growth and colony formation, alone or in combination. Furthermore, the combination of these drugs was found to further increase the cleavage of caspase-3 and poly ADP-ribose polymerase. Naringenin and ABT-737 also decreased Akt activation and increased p53 expression, suggesting the involvement of these pathways in the inhibition of gastric cell growth.