[Baicalein inhibits PI3K/AKT signaling pathway and induces autophagy of MGC-803 cells].

: Objective To investigate the effect of baicalein (BAI) on autophagy in gastric cancer cell line MGC-803. Methods MGC-803 cells were treated with 0, 5, 15, 25, 50 μmol/L BAI for 24, 48, 72 hours. The proliferation activity of MGC-803 cells was detected by MTT assay. Acridine orange (AO) staining combined with immunofluorescence cytochemical staining was performed to observe the expression of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3) and P62 to determine autophagy in MGC-803 cells. The protein levels of LC3, P62, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), phosphorylated PI3K (p-PI3K), AKT, and p-AKT were detected by Western blot analysis. Results Compared with the control group, BAI significantly inhibited the proliferation of MGC-803 cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner. BAI-treated MGC-803 cells showed a significant increase in acid lysosomes and increased LC3 expression. BAI treatment significantly decreased phosphorylation of PI3K and AKT proteins, increased the ratio of LC3-II/LC3-I and up-regulated the expression of P62 protein. Conclusion Baicalein could inhibit PI3K/AKT signaling pathway and induce autophagy in MGC-803 cells.