<p>Astragalus Polysaccharide Promotes Adriamycin-Induced Apoptosis in Gastric Cancer Cells</p>

Abstract

Astragalus polysaccharide (APS), a common Chinese herbal compound extracted from Astragalus membranaceus, has been proposed to increase the tumour response of and stabilize chemotherapy drugs while reducing their toxicity. Here, we examined the effects of APS on apoptosis in gastric cancer (GC) cells in the presence or absence of adriamycin (0.1 µg/mL). Methods: GC cells cultured in the presence or absence of adriamycin (0.1 µg/mL) were administered APS (50-200 µg/mL) for 24-72 h and subjected to an MTT assay to examine cell viability. Active caspase-3 expression and DNA fragmentation were assessed to evaluate apoptosis, and real-time PCR was used to analyse the expression levels of multidrug resistance (MDR1) genes and tumour suppressor genes. Western blot analysis was applied to detect cleaved caspase-3 and phosphorylated AMPK (p-AMPK). Results: Cellular viability was profoundly reduced by APS, and GC cell apoptosis was strongly increased by APS in a time-and dose-dependent manner; these changes may be linked to an increase in p-AMPK levels because the AMPK inhibitor compound C blocked the effects of APS. Similarly, adriamycin-induced decreases in cellular viability and apoptosis of GC cells were enhanced by APS administration. The expression of tumour suppressor genes (SEMA3F, P21 WAF1/CIP1 , FBXW7), but not of MDR1, was increased by APS compared to the control, and p-AMPK levels were lower in adriamycin-resistant GC cells than in either adriamycin-sensitive GC cells or an immortalized human gastric epithelial cell line. Conclusion: APS induces apoptosis independently and strengthens the proapoptotic effect of adriamycin on GC cells, suggesting that APS may act as a chemotherapeutic sensitizer.

Astragalus Polysaccharide Regulates EGFR and ANXA1 Expression to Inhibit Tumor Growth

“…Most of studies have clari ed that APS inhibit tumor growth through immunopotentiation activity and generally be considered as a powerful adjunctive strategy in combination with chemotherapy for various tumors [15,16]. There are also parts of studies suggest the direct anti-tumor activity of APS, such as the inhibition of cell proliferation, the induction of cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest [17,18]. In the present study, for the rst time, we employed bioinformatics approach to speci cally target the common hub genes involved in the in vitro anti-tumor biological processes, and further underwent experimental veri cation.…”

Astragalus (Astragalus membranaceus Bunge): botanical, geographical, and historical aspects to pharmaceutical components and beneficial role

“…In a study, the administration of Astragalus extract decreased the viability and induced the apoptosis of gastric cancer cell line via the AMPK pathway (Song et al 2020). Zhang et al (2018a) investigated that the ovarian cancer cell invasion and migration were inhibited through a decrease in the phosphorylation of ERK and the expression of MMP-2/9 (Zhang et al 2018a).…”

Combining the Anticancer and Immunomodulatory Effects of Astragalus and Shiitake as an Integrated Therapeutic Approach

“…APS could also act synergistically or additively with standard chemotherapeutic agents, therefore reducing the dosing of standard chemotherapy and minimizing toxic side effects. In a recent study, APS has been shown to promote apoptotic effects of Adriamycin on gastric carcinoma cells when used in combination with Adriamycin [ 72 ]. The results of this study indicate that the mechanism for the anticancer activity was mediated through the AMPK pathway and APS can synergistically act with Adriamycin to enhance its anticancer activity [ 72 ].…”

“…In a recent study, APS has been shown to promote apoptotic effects of Adriamycin on gastric carcinoma cells when used in combination with Adriamycin [ 72 ]. The results of this study indicate that the mechanism for the anticancer activity was mediated through the AMPK pathway and APS can synergistically act with Adriamycin to enhance its anticancer activity [ 72 ]. In another study, Apatinib (a tyrosine kinase inhibitor used in many cancer targeted therapies), when used in combination with APS, showed enhanced anticancer effect on pancreatic cancer cells by reducing cell invasion and migration significantly compared to Apatinib monotherapy [ 73 ].…”