Growth Inhibitory Effects of a Selective Cyclooxygenase-2 Inhibitor NS-398 on Esophageal Carcinoma Cell Line EC9706

Objective To study the growth Inhibitory effects of a selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2)inhibitor NS-398 on esophageal carcinoma cell line EC9706. Methods The esophageal carcinoma cell line EC9706, expressing COX-2 constitutively, was incubated with NS-398 at 0,10,20,50,100 μmol/L for 24 h,48 h, 72 h and 96 h, respectively.The antiproliferation effect of NS-398 was measured by 3H-TdR incorporation,meanwhile the cell apoptosis was determined by flow cytometry(FCM) and DNA fragmentation analysis.Results The growth of EC9706 cells could be inhibited by NS 398 in a dose-and time-dependent manner.FCM analysis demonstrated a high sub-G_1 cell peak in NS-398 group, agarose electrophroesis showed marked apoptosis ladder pattern, but no apoptosis peak in control group was observed.The apoptosis percentage between NS-398 group (45.23±1.08)% and control group (2.14±0.28)% was significantiy different(P0.001). Conclusion The selective COX-2 inhibitor NS-398 could suppress cell growth and increase apoptosis in esophageal Carcinoma cell line EC9706.