Study of CAPE Effect on Apoptosis Induction in AGS Human Gastric Cancer Cell Line

Background: Propolis is a natural product of bee and caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) is a pharmacologically important product of propolis. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of CAPE on apoptosis induction in AGS human gastric cancer cells. Materials and Methods: The cytotoxic effects of CAPE at different concentrations were investigated on AGS cells viability after 24 hours treatment by MTT assay. To measure the effect of CAPE on apoptosis induction, AGS cells were treated with CAPE for 24 hours and investigated by FITC Annexin V/PI staining using flow cytometry. Results: CAPE prevented growth and proliferation of AGS human gastric cancer cell line in a concentration-dependent manner with an IC50 of approximately 60 mu M by a 24-hour treatment. Also CAPE caused increased induction of apoptosis in AGS cells from 1.37% in control cells to 21.76 % in treated cells with 30 mu M CAPE. Conclusions: CAPE prevents growth and proliferation of AGS human gastric cancer cell line through inducing programmed cell death in AGS cells. Therefore, CAPE could be helpful for developing chemotherapeutic agents or as an adjuvant for human gastric cancer treatment.