Abstract:Objective To explore the inhibitory effect of 6-gingerol on the proliferation and apoptosis of melanoma cells and its molecular mechanism. Methods Melanoma cells were treated with different concentrations of 6-gingerol. Cellular proliferation and apoptosis rate were identified by MTT and flow cytometry, respectively. The protein levels of Caspase-3/Cleaved-Caspase-3, PARP/Cleaved-PARP, BiP, IRE1 and JNK in melanoma cell line were measured by Western blotting. Endoplasmic reticulum stress signaling pathway was blocked by knockdown of IRE1 for further mechanism study. Result The 6-gingerol inhibited the proliferation of melanoma cells in a concentration- and time-dependent manner while apoptosis rate was enhanced (P < 0.05). IC 50 of 6-gingerol was 46.070 μmol and 33.152 μmol/L for M14 and A375 cell line, respectively. Treatment with 6-gingerol induced increased expression of Cleaved-Caspase-3 and cleaved-PARP (P < 0.05). Endoplasmic reticulum stress was activated by 6-gingerol with increase of BiP, IRE1 and JNK. IRE1 knockdown reversed 6-gingerol-induced upregulation of proliferation, cleaved-Caspase-3 (P < 0.05). Conclusion The 6-gingerol inhibits proliferation of melanoma cell by activating the endoplasmic reticulum stress.