Effect of paeonol on apoptosis of human ovarian cancer SKOV3 cells and possible relevant mechanism

Objective To investigate the promoting effect of paeonol on apoptosis of human ovarian cancer SKOV3 cells as well as the possible relevant mechanism.Methods SKOV3 cells were treated with paeonol at concentrations of 25,50,100,200 and 400 μg / ml respectively for 24 h,and measured for proliferation level by MTT assay,using those untreated as control.In addition,the cells were treated with 50,100 and 200 μg / ml paeonol for 24 h,then determined for apoptosis by flow cytometry(FCM)and Hoechst staining,and for expressions of caspase3 and survivin by Western blot,using those untreated as control.Results The proliferation of SKOV3 cells was inhibited by paeonol in a dose-dependent manner(P 0.05),with an IC 50 of 200.06 μg / ml.The apoptosis rates of SKOV3 cells treated with paeonol at concentrations of 100 and 200 μg / ml were(35.33 ± 1.32)% and(39.56 ± 1.27)% respectively,which were significantly higher than those in control group [(9.01 ± 1.21)%,P 0.05].The number of apoptotic cells treated with 100 and 200 μg / ml paeonol was larger than that in control group.The expression level of survivin in SKOV3 cells treated with paeonol decreased,while that of caspase3 increased,which showed significant difference in high and low concentration paeonol groups(P 0.05).Conclusion Paeonol inhibited the proliferation and promoted the apoptosis of human ovarian cancer SKOV3 cells,of which the mechanism might be related to the regulation of expressions of apoptosis-associated proteins survivin and caspase3.