Wogonin Increases Cisplatin Sensitivity in Ovarian Cancer Cells Through Inhibition of the Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase (PI3K)/Akt Pathway
Feng Xing, Cong Sun, Ning Luo, Yuanying He, Mengmeng Chen, Siyu Ding, Chenghua Liu, Lijin Feng, Zhongping Cheng
(Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, Tongji University, Shanghai, China (mainland))
Med Sci Monit 2019; 25:6007-6014
DOI: 10.12659/MSM.913829
Published: 2019-08-12
BACKGROUND:
Wogonin (5,7-dihydroxy-8-methoxyflavone), one of flavonoids isolated from the Scutellaria baicalensis, has been regarded as an anticancer candidate because of its maximal efficacy in cancer cells. This study aimed to explore the possible mechanism that wogonin uses to enhance the sensitivity of ovarian cancer cells to cisplatin chemotherapy.
MATERIAL AND METHODS:
The growth inhibition rates of ovarian cancer cells SKOV3/DDP and C13* were assessed by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. The apoptosis was assessed under a fluorescence microscope following staining with Hoechst. We further analyzed the expression of Bcl-2, cleaved caspases-3, cleaved-PARP, and phospho-Akt by western blotting.
RESULTS:
In the present study, we found that wogonin reduced proliferation of ovarian cancer cells SKOV3, SKOV3/DDP, OV2008, and C13* in dose- and time-dependent manners and it sensitized cisplatin-induced cytotoxicity. Moreover, treatment with wogonin also increased cisplatin-resistant SKOV3/DDP and C13* cells to low dose cisplatin-induced cell apoptosis. Additionally, such treatment resulted in a significant decrease in phosphorylated Akt.
CONCLUSIONS:
Wogonin could significantly increase the sensitivity of cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer cells to cisplatin by downregulating the PI3K/Akt pathway.
Keywords: Antineoplastic Agents, Cisplatin, Ovarian Neoplasms
