Berberine represses human gastric cancer cell growth in vitro and in vivo by inducing cytostatic autophagy via inhibition of MAPK/mTOR/p70S6K and Akt signaling pathways.

Berberine represses human gastric cancer cell growth in vitro and in vivo by inducing cytostatic autophagy via inhibition of MAPK/mTOR/p70S6K and Akt signaling pathways. Biomed Pharmacother. 2020 May 23;128:110245 Authors: Zhang Q, Wang X, Cao S, Sun Y, He X, Jiang B, Yu Y, Duan J, Qiu F, Kang N Abstract Berberine, an isoquinoline alkaloid from Coptidis Rhizoma, has been characterized as a potential anticancer drug due to its good anti-tumor effects. However, the molecular mechanisms involved in anti-gastric cancer remain poorly understood. Herein, the role of berberine in gastric cancer suppression by inducing cytostatic autophagy in vitro and in vivo was first investigated. Results showed that berberine induced an obvious growth inhibitory effect on gastric cancer BGC-823 cells without toxicity to human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Treatment with berberine triggered cell autophagy, as demonstrated by the punctuate distribution of monodansylcadaverine staining and GFP-LC3, as well as the LC3-II, Beclin-1 and p-ULK1 promotion, and p62 degradation. Inhibition of autophagy by 3-MA, CQ, Baf-A1 and BECN1 siRNA obviously increased cell viability of berberine-exposed gastric cancer cells, which confirmed the anti-cancer role of autophagy induced by berberine. Mechanistic studies showed that berberine inhibited mTOR, Akt and MAPK (ERK, JNK and p38) pathways thereby inducing autophagy. Inhibition of above pathways increases berberine ...
Source: Biomedicine and pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine and pharmacotherapie - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Tags: Biomed Pharmacother Source Type: research