Silencing Stat3 inhibits viability and induces apoptosis in BGC-823 human gastric cancer cell line

Gastric cancer (GC) is characterized by infrequent early diagnosis, poor prognosis and high mortality. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 5b (Stat5b) play multiple roles in the development and progression of many human cancers. We investigated the effects of silencing Stat3 and Stat5b on the viability and apoptosis of the human gastric cancer cell line, BGC-823. We found that Stat3 and Stat5b were expressed in both the nucleus and cytoplasm of BGC-823 cells. Silencing of Stat3 caused significantly decreased viability and increased apoptosis, as well as attenuated B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) expression in BGC-823 cells. Silencing of Stat5b, however, had no significant effect on these events. Stat3, but not Stat5b, plays an important role in the viability and apoptosis of human gastric cancer cell line, BGC-823, which suggests that Stat3 is a potential target for gastric cancer therapy.