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The Anti-Cancer Effect of COX-2 Inhibitors on Gastric Cancer Cells

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Abstract

Epidemiologic studies have shown that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs could reduce the risk of cancer development including gastric cancer. This study was performed to identify the antineoplastic mechanism in gastric cancer cells affected by celecoxib, a selective COX-2 inhibitor. MTT assay, ELISA for prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), cell-cycle analyses, immunofluorescent staining, and flow cytometry were performed after treating human gastric cancer cell lines (AGS and MKN-45) with celecoxib or indomethacin. The viabilities of celecoxib-treated cells decreased in a dose- and time-dependent manner compared with indomethacin. Drop of PGE2 levels was more prominent in the presence of indomethacin than in that of celecoxib. Celecoxib arrested the cell cycle in the G0–G1 phase, which reduced cell numbers in the S phase. Moreover, celecoxib increased the apoptotic cell proportions, a 4-fold increase over control cells. The anticancer effects of celecoxib on gastric cancer cells appear to be mediated by cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis, and not by COX-2 or PGE2 suppression alone.

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Acknowledgments

Soo-Jeong Cho and Nayoung Kim contributed equally to this work. This work was supported by grant no. 02-05-022 from the Seoul National University Bundang Hospital Research fund.

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  1. Department of Internal Medicine and Liver Research Institute, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea

    Soo-Jeong Cho, Nayoung Kim, Joo Sung Kim, Hyun Chae Jung & In Sung Song

  2. Departments of Internal Medicine and, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoungnam, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

    Nayoung Kim

  3. Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 28 Yeongon-Dong, Chongno-Gu, Seoul, 110-744, South Korea

    In Sung Song

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Cho, SJ., Kim, N., Kim, J.S. et al. The Anti-Cancer Effect of COX-2 Inhibitors on Gastric Cancer Cells. Dig Dis Sci 52, 1713–1721 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-007-9787-3

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