Abstract
Aloesin is an active constituent of the herb aloe vera and plays a crucial role in anti-inflammatory activity, ultraviolet protection, and antibacterium. We investigated the role and possible mechanisms of aloesin in the cell growth and metastasis of ovarian cancer. It was found that aloesin inhibited cell viability and cell clonality in a dose-dependent manner. It arrests the cell cycle at the S-phase and induced apoptosis in SKOV3 cells. In an in vivo experiment, it was observed that aloesin inhibited tumor growth. Moreover, it inhibited migration and invasion of cancer in SKOV3 cells. Interestingly, members from the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling family became less phosphorylated as the aloesin dose increased. This suggests that aloesin exerts its anticancer effect through the MAPK signaling pathway. Our data also highlights the possibility of using aloesin as a novel therapeutic drug for ovarian cancer treatment.
Highlights
Ovarian cancer is one of the three common gynecological malignant tumors and ranks third in its rate of incidence
It was shown that the cell cycle was arrested when SKOV3 cells were treated with aloesin
Aloesin is the active constituent of the Chinese medicinal herb aloe vera and has been shown to exert anti-inflammatory effects, UV protection, and antibacterial properties [4,5,6]
Summary
Ovarian cancer is one of the three common gynecological malignant tumors and ranks third in its rate of incidence. According to a recent statistic, there are 22,280 new cases of ovarian cancer per year in the United States, among which an estimated 15,500 patients die from this malignancy [1]. There are multiple factors which influence the development and progression of ovarian cancer; it is currently understood as a multistep disease that involves the coordinal interaction of multiple genes, and the accumulation of multiple molecular and morphologic changes within a cell. Chemotherapy, and radiotherapy are the three major therapeutic options for ovarian cancer. Prognosis is still poor due to limited therapeutic strategies, except for late diagnoses [2, 3]. It is urgent to find a novel therapeutic treatment for ovarian cancer
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