Tanshinone IIA inhibits proliferation and activates apoptosis in C4-1 cervical carcinoma cells in vitro

Abstract

Tanshinone IIA (Tan IIA) is a natural product that has been identified to have anti-proliferative properties against cervical cancer. The study was designed to investigate the anti-tumor effects of Tan IIA at different concentrations on the proliferation and apoptosis of human cervical carcinoma C4-1 cells. Human cervical carcinoma C4-1 cells were treated with different doses of Tan IIA, and MTT assay was performed to determine effects on cell viability. Flow cytometry was used to detect apoptosis and Western blot analysis was carried out to determine alterations in the expression of key proteins. Tan IIA treatment (0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 5.0 mg/mL) significantly inhibited the growth of C4-1 cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Significant differences were observed in the growth inhibition rate between Tan IIA group and the control group (0.5-1.0 mg/L Group: p < 0.05; 2.0–5.0 mg/L Group: p < 0.01). Flow cytometry showed that C4-1 cells became apoptotic after treatment with Tan IIA. In the control group, the apoptosis rate of C4-1 cells was 2.56 ± 0.21% whilst in the Tan IIA-treated groups, different concentrations markedly increased the rate of apoptosis (1.0 mg/L group, 7.9 ± 0.43% [p < 0.05]; 2.0 g/L group, 10.2 ± 0.42%; 5.0 mg/L, 20.44 ± 1.24% [p < 0.01]; except 0.5 mg/L group, 5.8 ± 0.32% [p > 0.05]). Western blot assays indicated that the Tan IIA decreased Bcl-2, HPV 16 E6 and E7 protein levels, but elevated Bax and cleaved-Caspase-3 expression in cells. Tan IIA may inhibit the proliferation and induce the apoptosis of C4-1 cells in a concentration-dependent manner.

Keywords:

• Tanshinone IIA
• cell proliferation
• cell apoptosis
• cervical carcinoma C4-1 cells

Acknowledgements

This study was a part of National Natural Science Foundation of China project (81402979), and received financial support from the Health Developing Program in Jilin Province, China (20132099; 20180101142JC) and Science and Technology Research Projects of the Department of Education of Jilin Province, China (Contract No. 2011-132; JJKH 20190662KJ).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s). The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ruowen Zhang

Ruowen Zhang designed the present study. Mingcheng Li performed the assay, and analyzed and interpreted the data. Siqi Duan wrote the draft manuscript. Jiayu Chen and Gang Wang revised the manuscript.