Inhibition of cervical cancer HeLa Cell proliferation by baicalin through the access of regulating PTEN/PI3K/AKT pathway

Abstract

Objective To investigate the effect of baicalin on the proliferation of human cervical carcinoma HeLa cells and identify possible mechanism involved. Methods Following culture of HeLa cells, CCK-8 method was used to detect the proliferation inhibition rate of HeLa cells treated with baicalin at different concentrations of 5, 10, 25, 50 μmol/L for respectively 24, 48 and 72 hours. EdU experiment was used to detect the proliferation rate of HeLa cells. Western-blotting and RT-PCR were used to detect the effects of baicalin at different concentrations on the expression levels of PTEN/PI3K/AKT pathway protein and mRNA in HeLa cells. Results Baicalin could significantly inhibit the proliferation of HeLa cells in a time-dependent manner. Meanwhile, baicalin at different concentrations could significantly enhance the expression levels of PTEN mRNA and related proteins, and inhibit the expression levels of PI3K, AKT mRNA and proteins in HeLa cells (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Furthermore, it could obviously down-regulate the expression levels of p-PI3K and p-AKT proteins(P<0.05 or P<0.01). Conclusion Baicalin at different concentrations could significantly inhibit the proliferation of human cervical cancer HeLa cells, the mechanism of which might be related to the activation of PTEN expression and the inhibition of the activation of PI3K/AKT pathway. Key words: Baicalin; Cervical cancer; HeLa cell; PTEN/PI3K/AKT pathway; Proliferation