Abstract:Objective To investigate the effects and mechanism of luteolin (Lut) in reversing doxorubicin (Dox) resistance of cervical cancer.Methods Dox-resistant HeLa/Dox cell line was established, and the HeLa/Dox cells were divided into control group, Dox group, Lut group, Dox+Lut group after treated with Dox or/and Lut to detect the survival rate and apoptosis rate. The model of transplanted tumor in mice was established, and they were treated with 3 mg·kg-1 Dox or/and 5 mg·kg-1 Lut. Detect the growth of the tumor in mice and the changes of related proteins in tumor.Results (1) The results of CCK-8 assay showed that the cell growth of Dox+Lut group was significantly inhibited and its survival rate was lower than that of the Lut group and Dox group (P<0.01). Cell clone formation experiments showed a similar trend of cell growth as CCK-8 assay. Flow cytometry showed that Dox alone did not promote the apoptosis of HeLa/Dox cells, but Lut alone could significantly cause the apoptosis of HeLa/Dox cells. (2) Dox alone showed few effects on the migration of HeLa/Dox cells (P<0.05), while Lut alone significantly inhibited the migration of HeLa/Dox cells. Dox combined with Lut showed the strongest inhibitory effects on HeLa/Dox cell migration (P<0.01). (3) Compared with the control group, the expressions of PI3K and cleaved caspase-3 proteins in Dox group, Lut group and Dox+Lut group were up-regulated. The expression levels of PI3K and cleaved caspase-3 proteins in Dox+Lut group were the highest. The protein expressions of p-Akt, p-mTOR and p70S6K proteins was significantly decreased in Dox+Lut group (P<0.05). (4)The tumor volume of control group, Dox group, Lut group and Dox+Lut group were respectively (1265.8+123.3) mm3, (456.4+68.7) mm3, (479.9+57.2) mm3 and (108.1+14.0) mm3, with statistical differences (P<0.05). Immunohistochemistry showed that the expression of PI3K and cleaved caspase-3 increased significantly in Dox+Lut group (P<0.01), while the expression of P70S6K and Ki-67 decreased significantly (P<0.01).Conclusion Lut can reverse the drug resistance of cervical cancer cells to doxorubicin by regulating the activity of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway, and inhibit the proliferation and metastasis and promote the apoptosis of tumor cells.