Objective To study the effect and mechanism of tanshinone Ⅱ
A on cisplatin resistance in human laryngeal carcinoma cells.
Methods Human laryngeal carcinoma Hep-2 cells and human laryngeal carcinoma cisplatin-resistant cells (Hep-2/DDP) were treated with different concentrations of cisplatin (0, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, 8.0, 16.0, 32.0 mg/L) for 48 h. The inhibition rate of cell proliferation
was detected by CCK-8 method, and the semi-inhibitory concentration (IC50) and drug resistance index (RI) were calculated. Hep-2 cells were treated with different concentrations of tanshinone ⅡA (0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, 8.0, 16.0 mg/L) in logarithmic growth phase for 48 h. The cell proliferation inhibition rate was detected by CCK-8 method, and the IC50 was calculated. Hep-2/DDP cells were treated with tanshinone ⅡA IC50 (5.32 mg/L) + cisplatin at different concentrations (0, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, 8.0, 16.0, 32.0 mg/L) for 48 h, and the cell proliferation inhibition rate was detected by CCK-8 method. The IC50 and reversion fold (RF) of two drug combinations were calculated. Hep-2/DDP cells in logarithmic growth phase were divided into control group, cisplatin group, tanshinone ⅡA + cisplatin group, and tanshinone ⅡA + cisplatin + IGF-1 group. The cell proliferation inhibition rate and apoptosis rate were detected by CCK-8 method and Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining method, and the expression of Bcl-2, Bax, Cleaved caspase-3, Cleaved caspase-9, PI3K, p-PI3K, Akt,and p-Akt was detected by Western blotting. Results The IC50 of cisplatin on Hep-2 cells was 4.58 mg/L, the IC50 of cisplatin on Hep-2/DDP cells was 14.09 mg/L, and the RI was 3.08. The IC50 of tanshinone ⅡA on Hep-2 cells was 5.32 mg/L. The IC50 and RF of tanshinone ⅡA combined with cisplatin were 3.34 mg/L and 4.22, respectively. Compared with the control group, the proliferation inhibition rate and apoptosis rate of Hep-2/DDP cells in cisplatin group were significantly increased (P < 0.01). Compared with cisplatin group, the proliferation inhibition rate and apoptosis rate of Hep-2/DDP cells in tanshinone ⅡA + cisplatin group were significantly increased (P < 0.05). Compared with tanshinone ⅡA + cisplatin group, the proliferation inhibition rate and apoptosis rate of Hep-2/DDP cells in tanshinone ⅡA + cisplatin + IGF-1 group were significantly decreased (P < 0.05). Compared with the control group, the expression level of Bcl-2 in Hep-2/DDP cells in cisplatin group was significantly decreased, while the expression levels of Bax, Cleaved caspase-3, Cleaved caspase-9, and Bax/Bcl-2 ratio were significantly increased (P < 0.05). Compared with cisplatin group, the expression level of Bcl-2 in Hep-2/DDP cells in tanshinone ⅡA + cisplatin group was significantly decreased, and the expression levels of Bax, Cleaved caspase-3, Cleaved caspase-9, and Bax/Bcl-2 ratio were significantly increased (P < 0.05). Compared with tanshinone ⅡA + cisplatin group, the expression level of Bcl-2 in Hep-2/DDP cells in tanshinone ⅡA + cisplatin + IGF-1 group was significantly increased, and the expression levels of Bax, Cleaved caspase-3, Cleaved caspase-9, and Bax/Bcl-2 ratio were significantly decreased (P < 0.05). Compared with the control group, the expressions of p-PI3K and p-Akt and the phosphorylation of PI3K and Akt (p-PI3K/PI3K, p-Akt/Akt) in Hep-2/DDP cells in cisplatin group were significantly decreased (P < 0.05). Compared with cisplatin group, the expressions of p-PI3K and p-Akt and the phosphorylation levels of PI3K and Akt in Hep-2/DDP cells in tanshinone ⅡA + cisplatin group were significantly decreased (P < 0.05). Compared with tanshinone ⅡA + cisplatin group, the expressions of p-PI3K and p-Akt and the phosphorylation levels of PI3K and Akt in Hep-2/DDP cells in tanshinone ⅡA + cisplatin + IGF-1 group were significantly increased (P < 0.05). Conclusions Tanshinone ⅡA can reverse the cisplatin resistance of human laryngeal cancer cells, which mechanism may be related to inhibiting the activation of PI3K/Akt pathway and promoting the apoptosis of laryngeal cancer cells.