ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the anticancer effect of oxymatrine on cervical cancer cell line (HeLa). Methods MTT assay was used to detect the anti-proliferative effect of oxymatrine.Transwell chamber was used to detect the anti-metastatic effect of oxymatrine.Real-time PCR was used to detect the mRNA levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9.Western blot was used to detect the protein levels of MMP-2,MMP-9,AKT,p-AKT and GADPH. Results We found that application of oxymatrine significantly inhibited the growth of HeLa cells at the concentration above 0.8 mg/mL.We also found that oxymatrine (0.1,0.2 and 0.4 mg/mL)inhibited the invasion of HeLa cells under cytotoxic dose,which was (77.07±20.43)%,(53.95±18.17)% and (20.35±11.20)% of cells that migrated through the matrigel when compared with those of non-oxymatrine treatment group (P<0 .0 5 ). Further research found that oxymatrine (0.1,0.2 and 0.4 mg/mL)could reduce the expression of MMP-2 at the mRNA level,i.e.(82.76±8.71)%,(39.51±12.79)% and (21.53±5.38)% of the expression level when compared with that of non-oxymatrine treatment group (P<0 .0 5 ).The protein expression level of MMP-2 in 0 .4 mg/mL group was (64.69 ±16.52)% of non-oxymatrine treatment group (P<0.05).The phosphorylation level of AKT in 0.4 mg/mL group was (41.27±7.13)% of non-oxymatrine treatment group (P<0.05).Conclusion Oxymatrine can inhibit the invasion of HeLa cells by reducing the expression of MMP-2 via inhibiting the activity of AKT signal pathway.All together,our findings bring new insights into the mechanism of the anticancer effects induced by oxymatrine treatment.