Solasonine inhibits gastric cancer proliferation and enhances chemosensitivity through microRNA-486-5p.

Previous studies have proved the anticancer effects of solasonine against a number of human cancers. Considering this, the present was study designed to explore the anticancer effects of solasonine against the human gastric cancer cells with an emphasis on elucidation of the underlying molecular mechanism. The results showed that solasonine significantly (P < 0.05) inhibited the cancer cell proliferation and also reduced the colony forming potential of gastric cancer cells. The antiproliferative effects of solasonine were due to the induction of apoptosis in the gastric cancer cells as evident from the DAPI, AO/EB and PI staining assays. Further, the chemosensitivity of gastric cancer cells was seen to be enhanced markedly under solasonine administration. Solasonine was shown to exert its anticancer effects through miR-486-5p and its treatment increased the expression of miR-486-5p significantly. The up-regulation of miR-486-5p imitated the growth inhibitory effects of solasonine treatment on gastric cancer cells. The miR-486-5p in turn exerted its molecular role by targeting PIK3R1. The results of this study are suggestive of anticancer role of solasonine against the gastric cancer via modulation miR-486-5p/PI3KR1 axis.