Melatonin inhibits cell growth and migration, but promotes apoptosis in gastric cancer cell line, SGC7901

Abstract

The pineal hormone, melatonin (MLT), has been shown to have therapeutic effects in patients with gastric cancer; however, the mechanisms for the anti-cancer effects are unknown. We investigated the effects of melatonin on cell proliferation, apoptosis, colony formation and cell migration in the gastric adenocarcinoma cell line, SGC7901, using MTT assay, Hoechst 33258 staining, flow cytometry, western blot, caspase-3 activity assay, soft agar colony formation assay, and scratch-wound assay. Our results showed that melatonin could inhibit cell proliferation, colony formation and migration efficiency, and it promoted apoptosis of SGC7901 cells. Our findings suggest that the anti-cancer effects of melatonin may be due to both inhibition of tumor cell proliferation and reduction of the metastatic potential of tumor cells.

Key words::

• apoptosis
• gastric cancer
• melatonin
• migration
• SGC7901

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Fund for Young Talents in College of Anhui Province (No. 2012SQRL067), School Scientific Research Fund of Anhui Medical University (No. 2003ZR05), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81201907), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81272399).

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.