A study of zederone for the inhibition on ovarian cancer cell proliferation through mTOR/p70s6K signalling pathway

Purpose: To investigate the inhibitory effect of Zederone (Zed) on the proliferation of human ovarian cancer cell line SK-OV-3 (SKOV3) and to explore the possible mechanism.

Methods: Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was performed to detect the inhibitory effect of different concentrations of Zed on the proliferation of SKOV3 cells; the effect of Zed on the morphology of SKOV3 cells was observed; flow cytometry was performed to investigate the effect of Zed on the cycle phase distribution of SKOV3 cells; Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blot were performed to detect the effects of Zed on the expression of mTOR, p70s6K, p-PI3K and p-Akt at mRNA and protein level in SKOV3 cells, respectively.

Results: Zed could effectively inhibit the proliferation of SKOV3 cells in vitro and change cell morphology. Flow cytometry indicated that Zed arrested SKOV3 cells at G1 phase. qRT-PCR revealed that Zed downregulated the mRNA levels of mTOR and p70s6K. However, western blot demonstrated that Zed could downregulate the protein expressions of mTOR, and phosphorylated p70 S6 kinase (p-p70s6K) in SKOV3 cells, but had no significant influences on p-PI3K and p-Akt proteins.

Conclusion: In conclusion, Zed can significantly inhibit the proliferation of human ovarian cancer SKOV3 cells, and this regulation may be mediated by the inhibition of mTOR/p70s6K signal pathway.