Abstract

Ovarian cancer is the most common female malignancy and the main cause of death from gynecological malignancies. Resveratrol (3,4,5 tri-hydroxystilbene) is a phytoalexin and a polyphenolic compound present in human dietary material such as peanuts, mulberries, grapes and red wine. We demonstrated that resveratrol depressed the proliferation of HO8910PM cells in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner in vitro (P < 0.001). Resveratrol not only decreased ovarian tumor volume and weight but also influence the tumor forming time in vivo (P < 0.001). The cell cycle S phase was arrested in response to resveratrol treatment. Caspases activity were also detected by western-blotting in HO8910PM cells treated with resveratrol. Caspase-3 or/and caspase-9 were highly activated in resveratrol-treated HO8910PM cells or xerngraft model (P < 0.001). Resveratrol significantly inhibits growth and induces apoptosis in HO8910PM cells both in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that resveratrol is a potential treatment or supplementary measure of ovarian carcinoma.

Key words: Resveratrol, ovarian cancer, apoptosis, cytochrome C, caspase.