IMR Press / FBL / Volume 27 / Issue 8 / DOI: 10.31083/j.fbl2708250
Open Access Original Research
Gui Shao Tea Extracts Inhibit Gastric Cancer Growth in Vitro and in Vivo and Prolong Survival in Nude Mice
Show Less
1 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, 510515 Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
2 The 2016 Class, 8-Year Program, The First Clinical Medical School, Southern Medical University, 510515 Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
3 School of Science, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 999077 Hong Kong, China
4 School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, 510515 Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
5 Guangdong Provincial Government Office, 510031 Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
*Correspondence: vliuyuemoon@163.com (Yue Liu)
These authors contributed equally.
Academic Editor: Graham Pawelec
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2022, 27(8), 250; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.fbl2708250
Submitted: 28 March 2022 | Revised: 31 May 2022 | Accepted: 28 July 2022 | Published: 18 August 2022
Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

Background: Gui Shao Tea (GST), a long-aged tea with a Chinese herbal aroma, can treat many stubborn and malignant diseases, according to traditional Chinese medicine. This research aimed to discover and define GST, study the anti-gastric cancer effects of GST extracts and preliminarily elucidate the mechanism of action in the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway and the gut microbiota. Methods: GST was analyzed by GC/MS and HPLC. Cell proliferation, the cell cycle and apoptosis were evaluated by a CCK8 assay and flow cytometry. The effects of GST extracts on tumor inhibition and survival time were explored by a gastric cancer xenograft model in nude mice. The PI3K/Akt signaling pathway was assessed by western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Gut microbiota detection and fecal microbiota transplantation were performed to examine whether the tumor inhibition observed in mice was related to gut microbiota changes. Results: The ingredients in GST, mostly terpenes and their derivatives, were novel and more concentrated than those in tea made from the branches and leaves of the same plant species, Camellia sinensis, picked and produced the same year, while the levels of polyphenols and alkaloids were significantly reduced. In BGC-823, MGC-803, and SGC-7901 gastric cancer cells, GST extracts significantly inhibited proliferation (p = 0.037), induced G0/G1 arrest (p < 0.001) and promoted early apoptosis (p = 0.041). In mice, gastric tumor growth was significantly inhibited in both the high-dose (HTF) and middle-dose (MTF) GST-fed groups. The inhibition rate in the HTF group was 33.77% on Day 14 (p = 0.042), and that in the MTF group was 55.21% on Day 14 (p = 0.002) and 61.6% on Day 28 (p = 0.008). The survival time of MTF group mice was significantly prolonged by 22.2% (p = 0.013). GST extracts inhibited the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in gastric cancer cells (p = 0.016) and tissues (p = 0.029), downregulated the protein p-Rb and further downregulated E2F1, thereby affecting the cell cycle and proliferation. GST extracts altered the gut microbiota in mice, but these alterations alone were insufficient to inhibit gastric cancer growth. Conclusions: We confirmed the anti-gastric cancer effects of GST extracts, which might provide new approaches and methods for research and development of gastric cancer drugs.

Keywords
Gui Shao Tea
gastric cancer
antitumor
terpenoids
Funding
S202112121124/Undergraduate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program of Guangdong
202112121348/Undergraduate Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program of Guangdong
2015A010107005/Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province
2017A030310022/Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province
Figures
Fig. 1.
Share
Back to top