Abstract: Objective To study the effect of the HSP90 inhibitor, 17-allylamino-17-demethoxygelda-namycin (17-AAG), on cell
proliferation and apoptosis of human cancer SGC-7901 cells and explore the mechanisms. Methods The inhibitory effect of
17-AAG on the proliferation and morphology of SGC-7901 cells was assessed with MTT assay and DNA-PI staining,
respectively. Flow cytometry was employed to analyze the changes in cell cycle and apoptosis of the cells following 17-AAG
exposure. The cellular expression of Fas protein was detected by immunohistochemistry. Results 17-AAG significantly
suppressed the proliferation of SGC-7901 cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner. After treatment with 17-AAG for 48 h,
SGC-7901 cells showed cell cycle arrested at G2/M stage, and the cell apoptosis rate increased with the 17-AAG concentration.
The expression of Fas protein in the cytoplasm of SGC-7901 cells increased gradually with the increase of 17-AAG
concentration. Conclusion 17-AAG can induce apoptosis, alters the cell cycle distribution and up-regulates the expression of
Fas protein in SGC-7901 cells to suppress the cell proliferation.