Polyphyllin I Sensitizes Cisplatin-Resistant Human Cervical Cancer Cells to Cisplatin Treatment

Abstract

Cervical cancer (CC) is a common gynecological malignancy, and improving cisplatin sensitivity has become a hot topic in CC chemotherapy research. Polyphyllin I (PPI), a potent bioactive compound found in Rhizoma Paridis, known for its anticancer properties, remains underexplored in CC resistance. In this study, we evaluated PPI’s impact on cisplatin-resistant CC cells and elucidated its underlying mechanism. Our findings reveal that PPI enhances the sensitivity of cisplatin-resistant CC cells to the drug, promotes apoptosis, and inhibits cell migration. Mechanistically, PPI was found to regulate p53 expression and its target genes, and suppressing p53 expression reverses PPI’s sensitizing effect in drug-resistant CC cells. In conclusion, PPI showed promise in sensitizing cisplatin-resistant human CC cells to cisplatin treatment, suggesting that it could serve as a potent adjunct therapy for cervical cancer, particularly for cases that have developed resistance to cisplatin, thereby providing a promising basis for further clinical investigation into PPI for enhancing the efficacy of existing chemotherapy regimens in resistant cervical cancer.

Authors’ Contribution

Lu Zhang and Wenzhi Liu designed the study, completed the experiment and supervised the data collection, Yu Li analyzed the data, interpreted the data, Yuanyuan Fu, Chuanhua Xu and Minmin Yu prepare the manuscript for publication and reviewed the draft of the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the manuscript.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Availability of Data and Materials

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article. The datasets used and/or analyzed during the present study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Changzhou Science and Technology Plan Program (Grant No. CJ20210158) and State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine Program (Grant No.[2022]01).