Examination of Combined Treatment of Ginsenoside Rg3 and 5-Fluorouracil in Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells

Abstract

Chemotherapy is a commonly used strategy for advanced lung cancer patients. However, its clinical application is restrained due to its toxicity and drug resistance. Ginsenoside Rg3 (Rg3) has a strong anticancer influence on colon cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, and other malignant tumors. However, it is still unclear whether Rg3 can cooperate with 5-FU to inhibit the tumor growth and angiogenesis of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). This study examined the combined treatment of Rg3 and 5-FU in LUAD. It was revealed that the combined treatment could notably enhance the suppression on proliferative, invasive, and migratory abilities and angiogenesis in LUAD cells A549 and SPC-A-1. On the other hand, we also discovered that Rg3 or 5-FU could suppress the activity of the NF-κB signaling pathway and downregulate VEGFA expression in LUAD cells. Collectively, this study suggested that Rg3 combined chemotherapy may perform a more powerful drug efficiency in LUAD cells.

Figure 1

Combined processing with Rg3 and 5-FU facilitates suppression on the progression of LUAD cells. (a, b) CCK-8 assay measured the viability of A549 and SPC-A-1 cells processed by different concentrations of Rg3 or 5-FU; (c–e) after A549 and SPC-A-1 cells were treated with Rg3 (1 mmol/L), or 5-FU (50 μmol/L) or both, the proliferation, migration, and invasion of A549 and SPC-A-1 cells were detected by colony formation assay (c) and transwell assay (d, e), respectively (∗ denotes P < 0.05).

Figure 2

Combined processing with Rg3 and 5-FU boosts the inhibitory effect on angiogenesis of LUAD cells. After A549 and SPC-A-1 cells were treated with Rg3 (1 mmol/L), or 5-FU (50 μmol/L) or a combination of them, (a) angiogenesis assay showed the angiogenic ability of the cells; (b) western blot expressed the protein expression level of VEGFA in LUAD cells A549 and SPC-A-1 (∗ denotes P < 0.05).

Figure 3

Combined processing with Rg3 and 5-FU inhibits VEGF expression and NF-κB signaling pathway activity in LUAD cells. (a) Protein expression of nuclear protein p-p65 and p65 examined by western blot; (b) protein expression of p-p65, p65, p-IKK, IKK, and VEGFA in cells examined by western blot (∗ denotes P < 0.05).