Abstract:
Objective The inhibitory mechanism of the quercetin-mediated pyroptosis pathway on gastric cancer cells was investigated.
Methods AGS gastric cancer cells were treated with quercetin (experimental group) or remained untreated (control group). The effect of quercetin on proliferation and migration was analyzed using the CCK-8 and cell scratch assays, respectively. Western blot was used to detect the differences in the expression levels of cleaved caspase-1 (CASP1) and gasdermin D (GSDMD) in AGS cells after quercetin intervention. A CASP3-knockdown AGS stable cell line, AGS (shCASP3), was generated and the transfection efficiency was measured. Differences in the expressions of GSDMD and GSDME were determined by Western blot in normal AGS and AGS (shCASP3) cells after quercetin intervention.
Results Quercetin had a significant inhibitory effect on the proliferation and migration of AGS cells, and upregulated the expression levels of CASP1 and GSDMD proteins. Compared with normal AGS cells, GSDME protein was upregulated in AGS (shCASP3) cells, which was reversed after the intervention with quercetin.
Conclusions Quercetin inhibited the proliferation and migration of AGS gastric cancer cells. The effects may be related to the activation of the CASP1/GSDMD and CASP3/GSDME signaling pathways, which in turn trigger the pyroptosis pathways.