Rapamycin combined with cisplatin in inhibiting the proliferation of ovarian cancer SKOV-3 cells

Objective: To study rapamycin alone or in combination with cisplatin on the growth of human ovarian cancer SKOV-3 cells and the possible molecular mechanism. Methods: Human ovarian cancer SKOV-3 cells were cultured in vitro. The experimental group was administered with different concentrations of rapamycin and cisplatin, and 40 nmol/L rapamycin+ 10 μmol/L cisplatin. MTT assay was applied to examine these drugs' inhibition rate on cell proliferation; flow cytometry was used to analyze the apoptosis rate and cell cycle distribution. Results: Rapamycin alone or in combination with cisplatin could significantly inhibit the proliferation of human ovarian cancer SKOV-3 cells in time- and dose-dependent manners, and the joint effect of the two drugs had a significantly higher inhibition rate (P<0.05), showing their synergistic effects. Flow cytometry revealed that rapamycin could cause G1 phase arrest of ovarian cancer SKOV-3 cells and induce apoptosis at the same time; the apoptosis rate increased with the increase in drug concentration. Conclusion: Rapamycin and cisplatin can significantly inhibit the proliferation of human ovarian cancer SKOV-3 cells, arrest cell cycle and induce cell apoptosis, and the two drugs administered in combination show synergistic effects.