Li Jingwei, Jiang Kailei, Zhao Fujie
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning 100004, P.R. China.
Oncol Rep. 2015 Jun;33(6):2829-36. doi: 10.3892/or.2015.3891. Epub 2015 Apr 1.
Icariin is the main active ingredient found in the traditional Chinese medicinal plant Epimedium, and exhibits various pharmacological effects such as enhanced immune function, anticancer activity, improved cardiovascular function and endocrine adjustment. However, the effect of icariin on ovarian cancer and the related mechanism have never been investigated. In the present study, we aimed to verify whether icariin inhibits the proliferation and increases the apoptosis of human ovarian cancer cells, and its molecular mechanism in order to establish an association and identify potential therapeutic targets. In the present study, ovarian cancer A2780 cells were treated with various concentrations of icariin, and the cell viability was evaluated by 3,3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Flow cytometry and caspase-3 colorimetric assay were performed to observe apoptotic changes in the A2780 cells. qPCR analysis was used to analyze miR-21 expression in the A2780 cells. Western blot analysis was used to assess PTEN, RECK and Bcl-2 protein expression. Transfection of microRNA-21 (miR-21) and anti-miR-21 was used to investigate expression of its target genes associated with cell proliferation and apoptosis. Icariin concomitantly suppressed cell proliferation, accelerated apoptosis and increased caspase-3 activity in the A2780 cells. In the ovarian cancer A2780 cells, icariin substantially decreased the miR-21 expression level, increased PTEN and RECK protein expression levels and decreased the Bcl-2 protein expression level. Notably, miR-21 regulated the potential anticancer effects of icariin on cell proliferation and apoptosis by targeting PTEN, RECK and Bcl-2 in the ovarian cancer A2780 cells. Our results demonstrated that icariin is an excellent candidate antitumor agent which exhibits an anticancer curative effect on ovarian cancer cells. miR-21 and its target genes may play a vital role in the molecular mechanism of the anticancer effects of icariin.
淫羊藿苷是传统中药淫羊藿中发现的主要活性成分，具有多种药理作用，如增强免疫功能、抗癌活性、改善心血管功能和调节内分泌等。然而，淫羊藿苷对卵巢癌的作用及其相关机制尚未见研究报道。在本研究中，我们旨在验证淫羊藿苷是否能抑制人卵巢癌细胞的增殖并增加其凋亡，以及其分子机制，以便建立联系并确定潜在的治疗靶点。在本研究中，用不同浓度的淫羊藿苷处理卵巢癌A2780细胞，采用3-(4,5-二甲基噻唑-2)-2,5-二苯基四氮唑溴盐（MTT）法评估细胞活力。通过流式细胞术和半胱天冬酶-3比色法观察A2780细胞的凋亡变化。采用qPCR分析检测A2780细胞中miR-21的表达。用蛋白质免疫印迹法检测PTEN、RECK和Bcl-2蛋白的表达。转染微小RNA-21（miR-21）和抗miR-21来研究其与细胞增殖和凋亡相关的靶基因的表达。淫羊藿苷同时抑制A2780细胞的增殖，加速细胞凋亡并增加半胱天冬酶-3的活性。在卵巢癌A2780细胞中，淫羊藿苷显著降低miR-21的表达水平，增加PTEN和RECK蛋白的表达水平，降低Bcl-2蛋白的表达水平。值得注意的是，miR-21通过靶向卵巢癌A2780细胞中的PTEN、RECK和Bcl-2来调节淫羊藿苷对细胞增殖和凋亡的潜在抗癌作用。我们的结果表明，淫羊藿苷是一种优良的候选抗肿瘤药物，对卵巢癌细胞具有抗癌疗效。miR-21及其靶基因可能在淫羊藿苷抗癌作用的分子机制中起重要作用。
