Effects of isoliquiritigenin on ovarian cancer cells

Abstract

BackgroundOvarian cancer is one of the most fatal gynecologic malignancies, with most patients diagnosed at the late stage due to insidious onset and lack of early onset specific symptoms. Previous studies have implied that isoliquiritigenin (ILQ) is a promising chemopreventive agent against oral cancer.AimThis study aimed to investigate effects of ILQ and elucidate the related mechanism.Materials and methodsOvarian cancer cell lines, SKOV3 and OVCAR3, were treated with various concentrations of ILQ to detect the dose-dependent effects of ILQ and select the suitable concentration. CCK8 assay and clone formation efficiency assays were used to detect viability and proliferation. The cell migration, invasion, and apoptosis were evaluated by wound healing assays, transwell, and flow cytometry assays. The expression of apoptosis-related proteins (Caspase-3, Caspase3-p17, Bcl-2, Bax, and Bim) and related-signaling pathway proteins were also detected by Western blot.ResultsIt was observed that the treatment of ILQ inhibited the survival and proliferation of SKOV3 and OVCAR3 cells. ILQ treatment inhibited migration and invasion, and induced apoptosis in SKOV3 and OVCAR3 cells. Also, the ILQ treatment increased the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio in SKOV3 and OVCAR3 cells, suggesting that a mitochondrial apoptotic pathway was triggered. It was also observed that, after treated with ILQ, the phosphorylated form of Akt and mTOR decreased and the expression of GSK3β increased, while P70/S6K decreased. ILQ treatment also decreased the expression of Wnt3a and, therefore, caused the decrease of phosphorylated ERK. ILQ also suppressed the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway by reduced the expression level of p-Akt, p-mTOR, P70/S6K and Cyclin D1 in Ishikawa and ES-2 cells.ConclusionThe data suggested that ILQ inhibited viability, proliferation, and invasion, and induced apoptosis of SKOV3 and OVCAR3 cells through the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway. Together, the data revealed that ILQ treatment may be used as a novel strategy for ovarian cancer therapy.

Mechanisms underlying isoliquiritigenin‐induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest via ROS‐mediated MAPK/STAT3/NF‐κB pathways in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells

“…ISL, a flavonoid with a chalcone structure, has garnered great interest because of its various biological and pharmacological activities. Many studies have reported that ISL has good anticancer activity in various types of cancer, including ovarian, breast, bladder, and colorectal cancers (Li, Yang, et al, ; Peng et al, ; Si, Yang, Yan, Wang, & Zheng, ; Wu et al, ). The known anticancer mechanisms of ISL involve inhibiting cell proliferation, inducing cell apoptosis and cycle arrest, and promoting oxidative stress.…”

“…The cell cycle plays an important role in regulating cell proliferation and apoptosis. It has been shown that cancer lesions in tissues or organs can occur when the cell cycle is not constrained by homeostatic mechanisms (Li, Dai, et al, ; Li, Wang, et al, ; Li, Yang, et al, ; Li, Zeng, et al, ). Cyclins and CDKs are key cell cycle mediators that precisely control the balance of various phases of the cell cycle (Zohny, Al‐Malki, Zamzami, & Choudhry, ).…”

“…Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignant tumor and the third cause of cancer‐related deaths (Li, Dai, et al, ; Li, Wang, et al, ; Li, Yang, Deng, & Sun, ; Li, Zeng, et al, ), with an incidence that has increased in the last 5 years (Yu et al, ). HCC mainly occurs in Asian countries and South Africa.…”

“…At present, surgical resection, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy are the primary treatments for this disease. However, patients have a poor prognosis and a 5‐year survival rate less than 30%, largely due to tumor recurrence and distant metastasis (Li, Dai, et al, ; Li, Wang, et al, ; Li, Yang, et al, ; Li, Zeng, et al, ; Zahid, Han, Zhou, & Raza, ). Therefore, it is of great importance to develop novel effective drugs for the treatment of HCC.…”

Isoliquiritigenin Nanosuspension Enhances Cytostatic Effects in A549 Lung Cancer Cells

“…It has several biological activities, such as antitumor, anti-angiogenic, antimicrobial, antianorexic, and anti-inflammatory effects [9]. Studies have mainly focused on the cytostatic activity of isoliquiritigenin, which has been demonstrated to be effective against most cancer cells by inducing cell apoptosis and autophagy, as well as regulating various signaling pathways [10][11], such as those involved in lung cancer cells [11], colorectal cancer cells [12], nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells [13], and ovarian cancer cells [14]. However, the antitumor activity of isoliquiritigenin has been hindered by its poor solubility.…”