Effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Thyme on the expression of HSP90α and HER2 genes in gastric cancer cell line (AGS) compared to human gum fibroblast cell line (HuGu)

Introduction: Gastric cancer is the fifth most common cancers in 2018 and the third most common cause of cancer deaths, worldwide. Today, a promising strategy for preventing cancer is to use drugs that naturally stop the spread of cancer cells based on herbal ingredients. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Thyme on HSP90α and Her2 genes expression in AGS cell line(adenocarcinoma gastric cancer cell line).Methods: Optimal dose and time of extract were determined by MTT assay. AGS cells and Human Gum Fibroblast cells were treated with 300 μg / ml of Thyme extract for 48 h, RNA extraction and cDNA synthesis, and subsequently gene expression analysis were then performed using Real time PCR.Results: The results of MTT showed that treatment of AGS cancer cells with the concentration of 300 μg / ml of the extract for 48 hours prevented the proliferation process and also significantly decreased the expression of HSP90α and Her2 genes in treated AGS cancer cells.Conclusion: It seems that hydroalcoholic extract of Thyme can be effective in the treatment of this disease by inhibiting the growth of gastric cancer cells and reducing the expression of HSP90α and Her2 genes and can be used in the design of anticancer drugs especially for gastric cancer.

Keywords:

thymus vulgaris , gastric cancer cell line , HSP90α and HER2