The Effect of Melittin on Rac1 Protein Expression as a Metastatic Factor in AGS Gastric Cancer Cell Lines

Introduction: Understanding the molecular mechanisms of metastasis is important for the design and effective use of novel therapeutic strategies in order to combat metastases. One class of molecules that has been implicated in metastasis is Rac1. Regarding complications of conventional therapies such as chemotherapy, current studies are evaluating natural compounds with anticancer Properties. Melittin is a natural compound derived from honey bee venom which has revealed amphipatic properties. Some studies have shown that melittin has an important role in reducing cancer cells metastasis by affecting Rac1 expression. Since the studies on melittin role in regard to Rac1 in gastric cancer cells are rare, the present study examined the effect of melittin on Rac1 protein expression in AGS gastric cancer cells. Methods: AGS cells, after growth and reaching to 80% density, were exposed to 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 μg/ml concentrations of melittin (test groups) for six hours. Then cells were collected, lysed with lysis buffer and Rac1 protein was identified by Western blotting technique. Data were normalized with the β-Actin internal control and calculated as the relative percentage. The study data were analyzed using SPSS statistical software via One-Way Anova test. Results: Comparison of Rac1 expression levels in AGS cancer cells showed that cells which were exposed to 6 hours of 0.2μg/ml (109±5.5), 0.3(105±3.6) melittin had higher Rac1 expression percentages compared to the control (100) and 0.4 (100±2). Rac1 expression percentages were not significant with a confidence interval (CI) of 95% ( P>0.05 ). Conclusion: In this study the results demonstrated that melittin does not have any effect on Rac1 in gastric cancer cells (AGS)