Effects of rapamycin on proliferation and apoptosis of gastric cancer cells and its mechanism

Objective To observe the effects of rapamycin on proliferation,apoptosis and invasion of human gastric cancer cell lines,SGC-7901 and MKN 45,and its mechanisms.Methods Different concentrations of rapamycin (5,10,20,40 nmol/L) were used.Methyl thiazol tetrazolium (MTT) and flow cytometry assays were used to detect the proliferation and apoptosis of SGC-7901 and MKN 45 cells.Transwell assay was used to observe the invasive ability of gastric cancer cells.By using reverse transcriptionpolymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blotting,the mRNA and protein expression of mTOR and Survivin was examined.Results Our data showed that rapamycin could inhibit proliferation and invasive ability of SGC-7901 and MKN 45 cells,and induce apoptosis of these two gastric cancer cell lines in a dose-dependent manner.The mRNA and protein expression of mTOR and Survivin was suppressed by rapamycin.Conclusion Rapamycin could inhibit proliferation,invasive ability and induce apoptosis of human gastric cancer cellsin vitroprobably by inhibiting the expression of mTOR and Survivin. Key words: Rapamycin;  mTOR;  Gastric carcinoma;  Survivin