[Effects of TOFA on growth of Eca109 and KYSE-450 cells in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma]

Objective: To investigate the effects of 5-tetradecanoxy 2-furanic acid (TOFA) on cell proliferation, cell cycle and Apoptosis of esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma (ESCC) cells. Methods: Eca-109 cells and KYSE-450 cells were divided into control group (DMSO) and experimental group (TOFA), respectively. The cells (4×10³ cells/100 μl) were inoculated into 96-well plates with 5 multiple wells at each concentration. After 24 h culture, cells were treated with DMSO or different concentrations (1, 3, 5, 10 μg/ ml) of TOFA for 24, 48 and 72 h. Cell proliferation was detected by MTT, cell cycle and Apoptosis were detected by flow cytometry, the expression levels of p21 and Cleaved Caspase-3 and modification levels of p-Akt, p-mTOR and p-4EBP1 were detected by Western blot, and intracellular free Fatty Acids were detected by special kits. Results: MTT results showed that TOFA inhibited the proliferation of Eca109 and KYSE-450 cells in a concentration and time dependent manner (all P<0.05), with IC₅₀ of 4.65 μg/ml and 3.93 μg/ml for 48 h, respectively. Flow cytometry results showed that compared with DMSO group, the percentage of cells in G2/M phase was increased and the Apoptosis rate was increased in the experimental group. Western blotting results showed that compared with DMSO group, p21 and Cleaved Caspase-3 protein expression levels were up-regulated, and p-AKT, p-mTOR and p-4EBP1 protein expression levels were down-regulated (all P<0.05). Conclusion: TOFA inhibits the proliferation, blocks the cycle progression and promotes Apoptosis of ESCC, the mechanism may be related to the Akt/mTOR/4EBP1 signaling pathway.