Abstract
Paeonol is a biologically active component purified from the root bark of Cortex Moutan that exerts pharmacological effects on the cervical cancer. In this study, we aim to evaluate the anti-cervical cancer capacity of paeonol and to investigate the mechanism driving its anti-cervical cancer effect. Paeonol administration markedly restrained the proliferation and caused apoptosis in HeLa cells. Furthermore, paeonol treatment resulted in a mitochondrial dysfunction in HeLa cells, including the inducing of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and the release of cytochrome c. Moreover, the Bcl-2/Bax proportion was obviously downregulated and cleaved caspase-3 expression was evaluated through paeonol treatment. Additionally, the expression of p-PI3K and p-Akt was noticeably reduced in response to paeonol treatment in HeLa cells. Our findings indicated that paeonol exerts an anticancer potential in HeLa cells, at least in a manner, via triggering the mitochondrial pathway of cellular apoptosis by inhibiting PI3K/Akt signaling. Thus, paeonol has great potential as a promising therapeutic compound to resist human cervical cancer.
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Funding
This work was supported by the Guangdong Natural Science Foundation (No. 2018A030313084), Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Guangdong Province of China (20191187), the Public Service Platform Open Project Fund of South China Sea for R&D Marine Biomedicine Resources (2HC18010), and Project of Educational Commission of Guangdong Province (4SG20124G & 4SG20126G) and Fund of Guangdong Medical University (GDMUZ2020005).
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Li Li and Baohong Li generated the idea. Li Li and Jikun Du designed the project. Daibo Song, Jinwen Li, and Li Li performed the experiments. Li Li and Yuanhua Li analyzed the data. Jikun Du and Li Li wrote the manuscript.
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Du, J., Song, D., Li, J. et al. Paeonol triggers apoptosis in HeLa cervical cancer cells: the role of mitochondria-related caspase pathway. Psychopharmacology 239, 2083–2092 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-021-05811-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-021-05811-0