Purpose: Tanshinone I is an important plant-derived natural product that has been reported to exert impressive bioactivities, including antiproliferative effects against different types of cancer cells. In this study the anticancer effects of tanshinone I were examined on human endometrial cancer cells along with its mechanism of anticancer action.
Methods: Antiproliferative activity and apoptosis were investigated by MTT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5- diphenyltetrazolium bromide] and DAPI (4',6-diamidino- 2-phenylindole) staining, respectively. Effects on reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) were estimated by flow cytometry and western blotting was performed to examine the effect of tanshinone I on JAK/STAT signalling pathway proteins.
Results: The results of this study revealed that tanshinone I inhibited the proliferation of the human endometrial carcinoma HEC-1-A cells in a dose-dependent manner. The IC50 of tanshinone I was 20 μM. The antiproliferative effects were due to induction of apoptosis in human endometrial carcinoma HEC-1-A cells. Tanshinone I also caused increase the ROS levels in these cells which was linked with the reduction the MMP levels. Tanshinone I also modulated the expression of JAK/STAT signalling pathway proteins.
Conclusion: In conclusion, tanshinone I may prove beneficial in the development of systemic therapy for endometrial carcinoma and deserves further research including its in vivo anticancer effects which shall be our future research work in this project.