Abstract
The aim of the present study was to determine whether sporamin, a trypsin inhibitor, suppresses the growth of human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) cells in vitro. Sporamin treatment led to the suppression of viability and proliferation of human ESCC cell lines, EC9706 and EC109, as determined by MTT and [3H] thymidine incorporation assays, respectively. Flow cytometry and fluorescence microscopy demonstrated that sporamin significantly induced apoptosis in EC9706 and EC109 cells. Western blotting demonstrated that sporamin downregulated the expression of Bcl‑2 and Bcl‑2 like 1, and upregulated the expression of Bcl‑2‑associated X in EC9706 and EC109 cells. In addition, marked inhibition of nuclear factor (NF)‑κB activation was observed in sporamin‑treated EC9706 and EC109 cells by an electrophoretic mobility shift assay. Sporamin treatment also resulted in reduced expression levels of phosphorylated (p)‑NF‑κB inhibitor α and nuclear NF‑κB p65. However, the expression levels of p‑protein inase (AKT) and its downstream target, p‑p70 S6 kinase, were not markedly altered following sporamin treatment. In conclusion, sporamin may suppress the growth of human ESCC cells via NF‑κB‑dependent and AKT‑independent mechanisms and may act as a promising natural therapeutic agent for the treatment of human ESCC.