Understanding the molecular mechanism of
gastric cancer cell apoptosis is pivotal for the development of precise
therapies targeting this disease. In the present study, we examined the effects of
annexin A7 inhibition on the apoptosis of
gastric cancer cells and the growth of tumour xenografts in vivo. Expression of
annexin A7 in BGC823 cells was suppressed by small interference RNA, and cells apoptosis was assessed by flow cytometry. The mechanism by which
annexin A7 mediates apoptosis in BGC823 cells was explored by determining the expression of key apoptosis regulators. In addition, by suppressing
annexin A7 in BGC823 cells with
small hairpin RNA, we studied the effects of
annexin A7 inhibition on in vivo tumour growth. Our results showed that inhibiting
annexin A7 expression induced more than fivefold increase in BGC823 cell apoptosis in vitro. This was in concord with a significant decrease of Bcl-2 expression and increases of Bax,
Caspase-3, and
Caspase-9. The activities of
caspase-3 and
caspase-9 were increased by 2.95 ± 0.18 and 3.70 ± 0.33 times, respectively, upon the
annexin A7 downregulation in BGC823 cells. Importantly, suppressing
annexin A7 showed the same apoptotic mechanism in vivo and significantly inhibited the growth of BGC823 xenografts in mice. These data suggest that
annexin A7 likely protects gastric cells from apoptosis and targeting it may represent a valuable strategy in future therapeutic development.