Effect of Glycyrrhetinic Acid and Glycyrrhizic Acid on the Expression of CXCR4 in Epithelial Cells of Gastric Carcinoma

Background and Gastric cancer is one of the most common cancers and the second common cause of cancer death worldwide. Surgery is the only treatment for gastric cancer but about 50% percent of patients have inoperable tumors. For these patients, combined chemotherapy is the primary treatment which has some side effects. CXCR4 that is expressed on the surface of tumor cells plays a role in metastasis and chemotaxis of tumor cells to different tissues. Licorice compounds are known to have anticancer properties, so this study aimed at investigating their effects on the expression of CXCR4 receptor in gastric cancer AGS cells. In this experimental study, 106 cells were poured in all wells of 6 pieces plates and exposed to various concentrations of Glycyrrhetinic acid and Glycyrrhizic acid for 24 hours. The CXCR4 gene expression levels were determined by Real−Time PCR and the level of expression in the groups was compared using ANOVA and Dunntt's post hoc test in prism software. P <0.05 was considered as statistically significant. The results showed a significant decrease in CXCR4 gene expression in cells exposed to acid Glycyrrhizic and acid Glycyrrhetinic at 24 hours compared with that of the control group. In fact, decreased expressions of CXCR4 reduced the rates of metastasis and chemotaxis. The compounds used in this study reduced the CXCR4 gene expression, so, they could be used as effective treatments for gastric cancer.