Chrysin Alters microRNAs Expression Levels in Gastric Cancer Cells: Possible Molecular Mechanism

Abstract

Abstract Background Gastric carcinoma still remains the second most common cause of cancer mortality in the world. Chrysin, as a flavone, has showed cancer chemopreventive activity. The cellular and molecular mechanisms of chrysin in cancer cells have not been fully understood. Objective In this study, we investigate expression levels of let-7a, miR-9, mir-18a, miR-21, miR-22, miR-34a, miR-126 and mir-221 to describe the anti-cancer effects of chrysin. Materials and Methods The cytotoxic effects of chrysin were assessed using MTT assay. The effect of chrysin on the microRNAs expression was determined by qRT-PCR. Results The MTT results for different concentrations of chrysin at different times on the Gastric carcinoma cells showed that IC50 for chrysin was 68.24 µM after 24 h of treatment. Expression analysis identified that miR-18, miR-21 and miR-221 were down regulated whereas let-7a, miR-9, miR-22, miR-34a and miR-126 were up regulated in Gastric carcinoma cell line (p<0.05). Conclusion Treatment with chrysin can alter the miRNAs expression and these findings might be an explanation for molecular mechanism of chrysin effect on gastric cancer.