Oxamflatin Induces E-cadherin Expression in HeLa Cervical Carcinoma Cells

Cervical cancer is currently among the most important causes of cancer-related deaths in women. The development of cervical cancer is associated with high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infections and a series of epigenetic changes in host cell genome, such as histone acetylation. Furthermore, decreased E-cadherin level has been shown to play a critical role in cancer cell invasion and metastasis. Oxamflatin has been reported to have anti-cancer efficacy. We aimed to study the effect of this drug on cervical cancer cell lines, HeLa cells, by assessing E-cadherin level as a marker of cancer invasion susceptibility. HeLa cells were treated with oxamflatin, and total RNA was obtained. Then, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to evaluate E-cadherin expression level in cells treated with oxamflatin. The findings of real-time PCR indicated that oxamflatin increased E-cadherin level in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. The level of E-cadherin significantly increased at the concentrations of 4 mM (for 24 hours after treatment) and 2 and 4 mM (for 48 hours after treatment) in comparison with corresponding control HeLa cells. The present study proposed that oxamflatin may have anti-migratory and anti-invasive potential against cervical cancer cells, which should be further evaluated in future studies.