Effect of aspirin alone or combined with cisplatin on human cervical carcinoma HeLa cells

Abstract

Objective To study the effect and mechanism of aspirin alone or combined with cisplatin(DDP)on human cervical carcinoma HeLa cells. Methods HeLa cells were treated by different concentrations of aspirin, DDP alone or both. The inhibitory effect on cell growth was analyzed by MTT and colony-forming assay. Cell apoptosis was measured with flow cytometry. The mRNA levels of Bcl-2, Bax and NF-κB(P65) were studied by RT-PCR. Result MTT assay showed that aspirin inhibited HeLa cell proliferation in a time- and dose-dependant manner. Aspirin decreased clone numbers in colony formation assay. Aspirin also induced apoptosis of HeLa cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner as detected by flow cytometry. The inhibition effects on proliferation, colony formation and apoptosis were significantly enhanced when cells were treated with both aspirin and DDP. RT-PCR demonstrated that aspirin decreased the transcription of Bcl-2 and NF-κB, and increased expression of Bax gene. Conclusion Aspirin can induce apoptosis in HeLa cells. Combination of aspirin and DDP displays a synergistic effect. The possible mechanism might be that aspirin downregulates the mRNA levels of Bcl-2 and NF-κB gene and upregulates the expression of Bax.