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Astragalus polysaccharides increase the sensitivity of SKOV3 cells to cisplatin

  • General Gynecology
  • Published:
Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

Multidrug resistance in malignant tumours hinders the treatment of tumours. Studies showed that astragalus polysaccharides (APS), one major active ingredient of astragalus, enhanced the sensitivity of non-small cell lung cancer and liver cancer cells to chemotherapeutic drug. However, the effect of APS on ovarian cancer is still unclear. In this study, we will examine the sensitizing effect of APS on SKOV3 cells to cisplatin and explore the possible mechanism.

Methods

MTT assay was employed to examine the viability of SKOV3 after treatment with APS and cisplatin. The cell apoptosis rate was determined by flow cytometry. The expression of Bax, Bcl-2, Caspase-3, and c-Jun N-terminal kinases 1/2 (JNK1/2) was measured using Western blotting and RT-PCR.

Results

APS synergistically promoted the inhibitory effect of cisplatin on SKOV3 cell viability. Flow cytometry showed that APS promoted cisplatin-induced apoptosis of SKOV3 cell lines. Further studies showed that APS down-regulated the expression of Bcl2, increased the expression of Bax and caspase 3 and activated JNK1/2 signalling pathway. The JNK inhibitors significantly rescued the proliferation inhibition induced by the drugs.

Conclusions

Astragalus polysaccharides increased the sensitivity of SKOV3 cells to cisplatin potentially by activating the JNK pathway. The apoptosis-related genes may contribute to the process. Thus, APS may be useful for the treatment of ovarian cancer as an enhancer of chemosensitivity.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Wei Liu, Cheng Liu, Jie Min, Wenjun Guo and Ye Qin for all their help with the experimental design and the improvements to this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, 238 Jiefang Road, Wuhan, 430060, Hubei, People’s Republic of China

    Caihong Li, Li Hong, Cheng Liu, Jie Min, Ming Hu & Wenjun Guo

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  1. Caihong Li
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  2. Li Hong
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  3. Cheng Liu
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  4. Jie Min
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  5. Ming Hu
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  6. Wenjun Guo
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Contributions

Study design: CL. Literature research: CL. Clinical studies: JM, MH. Data acquisition and analysis: WG. Statistical analysis: CL. Manuscript preparation: CL, LH. Manuscript editing: CL, LH. Manuscript review: CL, LH.

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Correspondence to Li Hong.

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Li, C., Hong, L., Liu, C. et al. Astragalus polysaccharides increase the sensitivity of SKOV3 cells to cisplatin. Arch Gynecol Obstet 297, 381–386 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-017-4580-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-017-4580-9

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