Mechanism of Syngrathus protein extract underlying apoptosis of cervical cancer Hela cells

Objective To study the role of Syngrathus protein extract in inducing proliferation and apoptosis of cervical cancer Hela cells. Methods The inhibitory effect of Syngrathus protein extract on growth of Hela cells was tested by MTT assay. Apoptosis of Hela cells was assayed by Annexin V/PI flow cytometry. Expression of Bax, p53 and Bcl-2 in Hela cells was detected by Western blot. Results Syngrathus protein extract inhibited the growth of Hela cells in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Annexin V/PI flow cytometry showed that the early and late apoptosis rate of Hela cells were significantly higher in Syngrathus protein extract treatment group than in control group (29.18±0.65, 39.32±0.78, 51.21±1.13, 61.56±1.09 vs 9.82±0.18, P< 0.05; 3.20±0.03, 7.48±0.06, 11.11±0.07, 14.60±0.03 vs 1.12±0.09, P< 0.05). Western blot displayed that the expression level of Bax and P53 protein increased while that of Bcl-2 protein decreased with the increasing concentration of Syngrathus protein extract. Conclusion Syngrathus protein extract inhibits the proliferation and induces the apoptosis of Hela cells in vitro by up-regulating the expression of Bax and P53 and down-regulating the expression of Bcl-2. The apoptosis rate of Hela cells increases with the increasing concentration of Syngrathus protein extract.