Anti-proliferation and Apoptosis Induced by Selective COX-2 Inhibitor in Human Esophageal Squamous Carcinoma Cells

The human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) cell line (EC9706), which expresses Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), was used to investigate the mechanism by which a new nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), NS398, inhibited proliferation and induced apoptosis in ESCC. The EC9706 cells were treated with various concentrations of selective COX-2 inhibitor, NS-398. Treatment with cox-2 selective inhibitor NS-398, significantly inhibited cell growth, induced apoptosis, and reduced the PGE2 production in a dose-dependent manner in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells. Further investigation showed that NS-398 could significantly increase caspase-3 activity, and the caspase specific inhibitor AcDEVD-CHO could inhibit the increase of caspase-3 activity induced by NS-398. Our results indicated that NS-398 could Xu-vol5no1 3/10/05 6:34 PM Page 212