Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Sparteine exerts anticancer effect on human cervical cancer cells via induction of apoptosis, G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and inhibition of VEGFR2 signalling pathway

Songnian Liang¹ , Linlin Liu²

¹Department of Radiology, The First Hospital of China Medical University; ²Mental health Center for Student, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning110001, China.

For correspondence:- Songnian Liang Email: sophia.hill20@yahoo.com Tel:+862483282730

Accepted: 20 June 2019 Published: 28 July 2019

Citation: Liang S, Liu L. Sparteine exerts anticancer effect on human cervical cancer cells via induction of apoptosis, G0/G1 cell cycle arrest and inhibition of VEGFR2 signalling pathway. Trop J Pharm Res 2019; 18(7):1455-1460 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v18i7.13

© 2019 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the anticancer effects of sparteine against human cervical cancer.

Methods: Cell viability was determined by CCK8 assay, while 4′, 6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining was used for determination of apoptosis. Cell cycle analysis was done with flow cytometry, while cell invasion was monitored using Transwell invasion assays. Protein expressions were determined using Western blotting.

Results: The results revealed that sparteine inhibited the viability of cervical cancer cells with half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) ranging from 10 to 25 µM. Sparteine exerted more profound anti-proliferative effects on DoTc2 cells, with IC₅₀ of 10 µM. However, minimal cytotoxicity was observed in normal cervical cells, as evident from the IC₅₀ of 80 µM. Sparteine triggered the generation of ROS and apoptotic cell death in DoTc2 cells. The induction of apoptosis was accompanied by upregulation of Bax expression and downregulation of Bcl-2 expression. Sparteine caused arrest of DoTc2 cells at the G₀/G₁ phase of the cell cycle, and suppressed the expressions of cyclin A and cyclin B1. Transwell assay data showed that sparteine decreased the invasion ability of DoTc2 cells. Sparteine also inhibited the phosphorylation of VGFR2 in a concentration-dependent manner.

Conclusion: Sparteine exhibits significant anticancer activity and may prove beneficial in cervical cancer chemotherapy.

Keywords: Cervical cancer, Apoptosis, Cell cycle arrest, Sparteine