Paclitaxel induces autophagy in gastric cancer BGC823 cells

ABSTRACT

This paper explores the connection between paclitaxel, a chemotherapeutic agent, and gastric cancer cells. In this experiment, it is demonstrated that paclitaxel triggers autophagy and inhibits proliferation of gastric cancer cells. An 3–(4,5–dimethyl–2–thiazolyl)–2,5–diphenyl–2–H–tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was used to detect cell viability and the IC₅₀ of paclitaxel. Western blot was used to detect the expression levels of P62, and to measure the protein expression of autophagy. Immunofluorescence was used to reveal the appearance of punctate structures in the cytoplasm—this ultrastructure associated with autophagy was observed by microscopy. Electron microscopy revealed the formation of double-membrane autophagosomes, a typical structure of autophagy. In conclusion, our research indicates that paclitaxel may influence gastric cancer BGC823 cells by way of inducing autophagy.

KEYWORDS:

• Autophagy
• BGC823
• paclitaxel
• ultrastructural changes

Acknowledgments

We thank the colleagues in our laboratories for technical assistance and advice during the experiments.

Declaration of interest

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

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. 81472765, and the fundamental research of Wuhan University School of Medicine under Grant No. MS2015022.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. 81472765, and the fundamental research of Wuhan University School of Medicine under Grant No. MS2015022.