Open Access

ARTICLE

Baicalein Inhibits the Proliferation of Cervical Cancer Cells Through the GSK3β-Dependent Pathway

Xiaoling Wu^*1, Zhiqin Yang^†1, Huimin Dang^‡, Huixia Peng^*, Zhijun Dai^§

* Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, P.R. China
† Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Yan’an People’s Hospital, Yan’an, P.R. China
‡ Department of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, P.R. China
§ Department of Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, P.R. China
1 These authors provided equal contribution to this work.

Oncology Research 2018, 26(4), 645-653. https://doi.org/10.3727/096504017X15031557924141

Abstract

Baicalein, a flavonoid derived from the root of Scutellaria baicalensis, has been reported to possess multiple pharmacological activities, such as anticancer and anti-inflammatory properties. This study investigated the effect of baicalein in cervical cancer cells. Cell growth curve and MTT assay were performed and revealed that baicalein inhibited the proliferation of SiHa and HeLa cells in a dose-dependent manner. We further found that baicalein arrested the cell cycle of SiHa and HeLa cells at the G₀/G₁ phase by suppressing the expression of cyclin D1 through the downregulation of phosphorylated protein kinase B (p-AKT) and phosphorylated glycogen synthase kinase 3β (p-GSK3β) according to FACS assays and Western blotting. Moreover, when CHIR-99021, a GSK3β inhibitor, was added to baicalein-treated SiHa cells, the expression of cyclin D1 was recovered, and cell proliferation was promoted. In conclusion, these data indicated that baicalein suspended the cell cycle at the G₀/G₁ phase via the downregulation of cyclin D1 through the AKT–GSK3β signaling pathway and further inhibited the proliferation of SiHa and HeLa cervical cancer cells.

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