Anemarrhenasaponin I suppresses ovarian cancer progression via inhibition of SHH signaling pathway

Objectives The Sonic hedgehog (SHH) signaling is essential in animal development and tissue homeostasis. Aberrant activation of SHH pathway has been implicated in tumorigenesis and progression of several cancers, including ovarian cancer. Therefore, targeting SHH pathway may pave the way for successful ovarian cancer treatment. Methods To identify the potential SHH inhibitors from traditional Chinese medicines, we herein employed two in vitro cell models. In addition, western blotting and quantitative real-time PCR were performed to evaluate the inhibitory activity of Anemarrhenasaponin I (An-I) on SHH signaling in ovarian cancer cells. Cell proliferation assay and transwell assay were used to assess the effect of An-I on tumorigenicity. We also applied RNA-seq to examine the potential mechanism of An-I against ovarian cancer. Results Drug screening results showed that An-I drastically inhibited SHH signaling. More importantly, An-I effectively suppressed ovarian cancer cell proliferation and aggressiveness. RNA-seq-based transcriptome data showed that An-I affected ovarian cancer cells by suppressing SHH-WNT-Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) pathway. Conclusions An-I suppressed ovarian cancer progression by inhibiting SHH-WNT-MMP signaling transduction, providing a new treatment strategy for ovarian cancer.