Cervical cancer is one of the most lethal malignancies of the female reproductive system. Shikonin, a naphthoquinone pigment extracted from the traditional medicinal herb, Lithospermum erythrorhizon, has been demonstrated to exert significant inhibitory effects on a variety of tumours in vitro and in vivo. In the present study, the effects of shikonin on cervical cancer and the underlying mechanisms were investigated. The effects of shikonin on the viability on HeLa and SiHa cervical cancer cells was examined using cell counting kit (CCK-8) and colony formation assays. Immunofluorescence assay was performed to detect the levels of the proliferation-related protein, Ki67. Western blot analysis was utilized to measure the phosphorylated and total expression levels of proteins, including focal adhesion kinase (FAK), AKT, and glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β). Cell migration was determined by using wound healing assay. Metastasis-associated 1 (MTA1), TGFβ1 and VEGF mRNA expression levels were determined using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR. It was demonstrated that, shikonin inhibited cervical cancer cell proliferation and migration. The data of the present study revealed that shikonin inhibited the proliferation of HeLa and SiHa cells in a concentration-and time-dependent manner. Mechanistically, shikonin blocked the proliferation of cervical cancer cells by downregulating the phosphorylation of FAK, AKT and GSK3β induced by EGF. In addition, shikonin significantly suppressed cell migration and reduced the expression of migration-related proteins, including MTA1, TGFβ1 and VEGF. On the whole, the present study demonstrates that shikonin may exert an inhibitory effect on the cervical cancer cell proliferation and migration through the FAK/AKT/GSK3β signaling pathway. These findings suggest that shikonin may function as a potential therapeutic drug for the treatment of cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer is one of the most common female cancers worldwide, and it is one of the most lethal malignancies of the female reproductive system. Shikonin, a natural pigment of theophyllin, has a variety of biological activities and has shown significant inhibitory effects on a variety of tumours in vitro and in vivo. However, there are few studies on Shikonin in cervical cancer. In the present study, we found that Shikonin inhibited not only the proliferation but also the migration of cervical cancer cells. Our data showed that Shikonin inhibited the proliferation of HeLa and SiHa cells in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. In cervical cancer cells, Shikonin not only inhibited the phosphorylation of FAK, AKT and GSK3β but also inhibited the phosphorylation of FAK, AKT and GSK3β induced by EGF. Further exploring the mechanism, we found that Shikonin could inhibit the proliferation of cervical cancer cells by regulating the phosphorylation of the FAK/AKT/GSK3β pathway. In addition, Shikonin significantly inhibited cell migration and reduced the expression of proteins such as MTA1, TGFβ1 and VEGF. In conclusion, our study elucidated that Shikonin has an inhibitory effect on the proliferation and migration of cervical cancer cells, which may be mediated by the FAK/AKT/GSK3β signalling pathway. Our results suggest that Shikonin has the potential to become a clinical treatment for cervical cancer.

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