Galangin has been shown to have anti-cancer property against several types of cancer cells. Many studies have described the anti-oxidant and apoptotic effects of galangin. However, the mechanism of galangin-induced apoptosis has not yet been studied for human gastric cancer cells. We investigated galangin-induced apoptosis of human gastric cancer SNU-484 cells. Galangin inhibited proliferation of SNU-484 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The results showed that galangin significantly decreased the viability of SNU-484 cells at 50-200 μM for 24 h and 48 h. Galangin-induced cell death was characterized with the changes in cell morphology, DNA fragmentation, cell cycle, activation of caspase-3/-9, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) cleavage, and expression of MAP kinase such as ERK1/2 and JNK. For identification of proteins potentially involved in apoptosis, a two-dimensional electrophoresis was employed. Proteomic analysis showed that several proteins were associated with anti-cancer properties of galangin. Of particular interest, these proteins included ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase isozyme L1 (Uch-L1) and glutathione S-transferase P (GSTP), which are involved in apoptosis of SNU-484 cells. Western blot analysis confirmed up-regulation of Uch-L1 and down-regulation of GSTP following galangin treatment. Our results suggest that Uch-L1 and GSTP be involved in galangin-induced apoptosis in human gastric cancer SNU-484 cells.
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