Abstract: Objective To investigate the effects of triptolide（TPL）on the proliferation， apoptosis and epithelial mesenchymal transition（EMT）of human gastric cancer cell line SGC-7901. Methods The SGC-7901 cells of logarithmic growthwere treated with different final concentrations of TPL at 12.5，25，50 and 100 nmol／L. The MTT method was employed to detect the cell proliferation of cells treated with different concentrations of TPL at 24， 48， 72 and 96 h. The apoptotic rate and cell cycle distribution of cells exposure to different concentrations of TPL at 48 h were measured by flow cytometry. Real time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the expression of Snail1 and Twist in different groups treated with TPL at 48 h. Western blotting was used to detect the protein levels of EMT-related markers， including E-cadherin， N-cadherin and Vimentin at 48 h. ResultsTPL in the range of 12.5-100 nmol／L exhibited the inhibitory effects on SGC-7901 cells in a dose- and time- dependent manner. In addition to cells exposure to 12.5 nmol／L for 24 h，the proliferation inhibition rates of the rest concentrations and time were higher than the control group（P＜0.05）. Compared with the control group， there were elevated early／late apoptotic rates，proportion of cells at G0／G1 phase and protein level of E-cadherin but decreased proportion of cells at S phase，protein levels of N-cadherin and Vimentin and mRNA levels of Snail1 and Twist in TPL-treated cells （P＜0.05）.
ConclusionTPL can inhibit the proliferation and induce apoptosis and G0／G1 phase arrest of gastric cancer cells SGC-7901. Besides，it has the effect on the inhibition of EMT process.