Effect of berberine on radiosensitivity of cervical cancer cells / 中华放射医学与防护杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the effect of berberine on the radiosensitivity of cervical cancer cells.Methods 5,10,15,20 μmol/L of berberine were used to treat cervical cancer cell lines of Siha,HeLa,Caski.DMSO was applied as control of drug treatment.Cell proliferation was detected by the CCK-8 method,and then the half inhibitory concentration of berberine was calculated.Cell apoptosis and cell cycle distribution were detected by flow cytometry.Protein expressions of Cleaved Caspase-3,Cyclin B1,CDK1,STAT3 and p-STAT3 were detected by Western blot.Cervical cancer cells of Siha were treated by berberine with a half inhibitory concentration for 24 h and then irradiated with 0,2,4,6,8 Gy of X-rays.Cell clone assay was used to detect cell survival.Results Berberine could inhibit the growth of cervical cancer cells with a half inhibition concentration of(16.84 ± 3.52),(23.54 ± 8.67),(21.86 ± 6.35)μmol/L for Siha,Caski,and HeLa cells,respectively.The berberine at 17 μmol/L could induce apoptosis (t =56.847,P ＜ 0.01) and G2/M phase arrest (t =47.251,P ＜ 0.01) in Siha cells,which also inhibited the expressions of Cyclin B1,CDK1 and p-STAT3 and promoted the expression of cleaved Caspase-3,but did not influence the expression of STAT3 in cervical cancer cells.Treatment of cells with 17 μmol/L berberine increased the radiosensitivity of cervical cancer cells with a sensitivity enhancement ratio of 1.55.Conclusions Berberine can inhibit cell proliferation,promote apoptosis,block cell cycle,and increase radiosensitivity of cervical cancer cells.