[Deuterium depleted environment inhibits the growth of gastric cancer cells: in vitro study].

OBJECTIVE:To examine whether deuterium depleted environment may affect the biological features of human gastric cancer cells(SGC-7901)and explore the possible underlying mechanisms. METHODS:SGC-7901 cells were cultured in RPMI-1640 medium prepared with distilled water of different deuterium concentrations(experimental group:25ppm deuterium;control group:150ppm deuterium). Assays on cellular proliferation, cell cycle and apoptosis were conducted at different time points and comparison. The protein expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) was measured using Western blot. RESULTS:In contrast to 150ppm group, the proliferation rate of SGC-7901 cells in 25ppm deuterium was decreased by 10% as indicated by the CCK-8 assay. Wound healing ability and the colony formation ability of these cells were also significantly suppressed (P<0.05). Flow cytometry analysis further revealed that exposure to 25ppm significantly increased the ratio of cancer cells at G1 phase (P<0.01) while decreased the ratio at S phase (P<0.05) compared to the 150ppm group. There was no significant difference in apoptosis between the two groups. Down-regulated expression of PCNA was also identified in cancer cells treated with 25ppm deuterium. CONCLUSIONS:Deuterium depleted environment inhibited the proliferation of gastric cancer cells, which may be attributed to the down-regulation of PCNA and cell cycle arrest at G1 phase.