Abstract: AIM: To investigate the in vivo tumor-inhibitory effects of snake venom antitumor component I(AHVAC-I) from Agkistrodon halys living in south Anhui province on the tumor-bearing mice with human gastric cancer cell SGC-7901 and activities of the cell proliferation as well as its mechanisms.METHODS: Cell suspension of 0.1 mL was obtained from the well-grown cell SGC-7901 by cell count of 1×10⁷/mL and incubated subcutaneously into the nude mice via right axillary fossa. After tumor formation, the mice were randomized into groups of model controls, positive paclitaxiel controls, AHVAC-I of low, medium and low dosage in which the animals were managed with AHVAC-I every other day for 5 consecutive times. The tumor growth and its sizes were observed and measured for mapping the growth curve and calculating the inhibitory rate. HE staining was performed to examine the morphologic change of tumors, and streptavidin-peroxidase (SP) immunohistochemical technique was used to detect the proliferation index of Ki-67 and TUNEL method was for examination of the apoptotic index.RESULTS:AHVAC-I at dose of 1.0 mg/kg produced inhibitory effects on SGC-7901 with inhibition rate of 42.2%, and inhibitory effects were significant at dose of 3.0 mg/kg with a rate of 78.5%. Ki-67 protein was reduced in the positive cells of treatment groups, leading to increased apoptosis of tumor cells.CONCLUSION: AHVAC-I can effectively inhibit the in vivo growth of gastric cell SGC-7901 in nude mice, and the possible mechanisms may be associated with the induced apoptosis and suppressed proliferation of the gastric tumor cells.

Key words: AHVAC-I, Gastric cancer, Nude mice, Inhibition, Proliferation, Apoptosis