Figures & data
Figure 1 Isoliquiritigenin inhibits viability and proliferation of SKOV3 and OVCAR3 cells. (A) The dose-dependent effect of ILQ on ovarian cancer cells, SKOV3 and OVCAR3. ILQ has an inhibitory effect on the survival of SKOV3 and OVCAR3 cells at 20 μM. The time course effect of ILQ on the viability of SKOV3 (B) and OVCAR3 (C) cells. (D) ILQ decreases the clone formation efficiency of SKOV3 and OVCAR3 cells. *P<0.05 compared with NC; **P<0.01 compared with NC; ***P<0.001 compared with NC.
Figure 2 Isoliquiritigen inhibits cell migration and invasion in SKOV3 and OVCAR3 cells. (A) Wound healing assay. The 100% confluent cell monolayer was treated with 30 μM ILQ for 24 h, and scratched a line with a tip to destroy a small area of the cell layer. Images were obtained at 0, 24, and 48 h after scratching. (B) Cell invasion in the ILQ-treated group decreased significantly compared with the control group (×100 magnification). **P<0.01 compared with NC; ***P<0.001 compared with NC.
Figure 3 Isoliquiritigenin induces apoptosis in SKOV3 and OVCAR3 cells and regulates expression of apoptosis-related proteins. (A) Flow cytometry staining revealed a significant shift in annexin V-FITC-positive cells after ILQ treatment in both SKOV3 and OVCAR3 cells. (B) ILQ treatment affects the expression level of apoptosis-related proteins. *P<0.05 compared with negative control (NC); **P<0.01 compared with NC; ***P<0.001 compared with NC.
Figure 4 Isoliquiritigenin regulates the members of PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway. (A) ILQ treatment significantly reduced the phosphorylated form p-Akt and p-mTOR in both SKOV3 and OVCAR3 cells. (B) ILQ treatment significantly reduced the expression level of downstream proteins. (C) ILQ treatment significantly reduced the expression level of Wnt3a and p-ERK. *P<0.05 compared with NC; **P<0.01 compared with NC.
Figure 5 Isoliquiritigenin regulates the members of PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway in Ishikawa and ES-2 cells. ILQ treatment significantly reduced the expression level of p-Akt, p-mTOR, P70/S6K, and Cyclin D1 in both Ishikawa and ES-2 cells. *P<0.05 compared with NC; **P<0.01 compared with NC.
Figure 6 Summary of the inhibitory effect of ILQ on PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway members.
