Effects of matrine on apoptosis of human ovarian cancer cell line SKOV_3 and its mechanism

Aim To explore the effect of matrine( Mat) on the apoptosis of ovarian cancer SKOV3 cells and its related mechanism. Methods SKOV3 cells were treated with different concentrations( 0. 4,0. 8,1. 2,1. 6, 2. 0 g·L -1) of Mat for 24,48,72 h. The inhibitory rate of mat on SKOV3 cell proliferation was determined by MTT assay,and cell apoptosis was evaluated by flow cytometry ( FCM) ; the expression of survivin mRNA was measured by RT-PCR and the expression of survivin and Caspase-3 protein was measured by Western blot. Results Different concentrations of Mat had certain inhibitory effect on SKOV3 cell proliferation,in a dose-and tine-dependent manner. The half maximal inhibitory concentration ( IC50 ) of 24,48,72 h were 3. 38,1. 57,1. 13 g·L -1 respectively; the cell apoptotic rate of treated with 0. 8,1. 6 g·L -1 Mat for 48 h, was( 11. 44 ± 0. 56) % ,( 17. 68 ± 0. 98) % respective-ly,which had statistical significance compared with the control group( 4. 85 ± 0. 31) % ( P 0. 05) . The expressions of survivin in SKOV3 cells were down-regulated markedly at both mRNA and protein levels,but Caspase-3 protein was up-regulated( P 0. 05) . Conclusion Mat can inhibit the proliferation and induce the apoptosis of SKOV3 cells,and its mechanism might be related to down-regnlating the expression of survivin and increasing Caspase-3 activity.