S-benzyl-cysteine-mediated cell cycle arrest and apoptosis involving activation of mitochondrial-dependent caspase cascade through the p53 pathway in human gastric cancer SGC-7901 cells.

S-benzyl-cysteine (SBC) is a structural analog of S-allylcysteine (SAC), which is one of the major water- soluble compounds in aged garlic extract. In this study, anticancer activities and the underlying mechanisms of SBC action were investigated and compared these with those of SAC using human gastric cancer SGC-7901 cells. SBC significantly suppressed the survival rate of SGC-7901 cells in a concentration- and time-dependent manner, and the inhibitory activities of SBC were stronger than those of SAC. Flow cytometry revealed that SBC induced G2-phase arrest and apoptosis in SGC-7901 cells. Typical apoptotic morphological changes were observed by Hoechst 33258 dye assay. SBC-treatment dramatically induced the dissipation of mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm), and enhanced the enzymatic activities of caspase-9 and caspase-3 whilst hardly affecting caspase-8 activity. Furthermore, Western blotting indicated that SBC-induced apoptosis was accompanied by up-regulation of the expression of p53, Bax and the down-regulation of Bcl-2. Taken together, this study suggested that SBC exerts cytotoxic activity involving activation of mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis through p53 and Bax/Bcl-2 pathways in human gastric cancer SGC-7901 cells.