The effect and mechanism of artesunate inhibiting the proliferation and inducing the apoptosis of human endometrial cancer cell line HEC-1B

Objective To explore the effect and mechanism of artesunate on the proliferation and apoptosis of human endometrial cancer cell line HEC-1B.Methods The proliferation change was detected by MTT assay;cell cycle change and apoptosis were measured by flow cytometry;the expressions of Livin and Caspase-3 mRNA were detected by RT-PCR before and after HEC-1B cell line was cultured with artesunate.Results Compared to the control group,artesunate significantly inhibited the proliferation of HEC-1B cell in dose-and time-dependent manners.Artesunate arrested the HEC-1B cell cycle at G0/G1 phase(P0.05).Artesuate of 20 mg/L increased the apoptosis of HEC-1B.The expression of Livin mRNA was decreased while the expression of Caspase-3 mRNA was increased significantly in artesunate-treated group.Conclusion Artesunate can inhibit the proliferation of HEC-1B cell line in dose and time-dependent manners and arrest the cell cycle at G0/G1 phase.Artesunate can exert remarkable anti-tumor effect by down-regulating the expression of Livin mRNA and up-regulating the expression of Caspase-3 mRNA.