Oxymatrine suppresses proliferation and facilitates apoptosis of human ovarian cancer cells through upregulating microRNA-29b and downregulating matrix metalloproteinase-2 expression

Oxymatrine, an alkaloid extracted from medicinal plants of the genus Sophora, has a wide range of pharmacological effects. Previous studies have revealed that oxymatrine can inhibit proliferation and metastasis of tumor cells through reducing matrix metalloproteinase‑2 (MMP‑2) mRNA expression. However, the expression of MMP‑2 in ovarian cancer is significantly higher than that in normal ovaries. Furthermore, the expression of microRNA‑29b (miR‑29b) in ovarian carcinoma is significantly lower than that in normal ovaries. Therefore, MMP‑2 and miR‑29b are tumor suppressor factors involved in ovarian cancer. To evaluate the anti-cancer effects of oxymatrine the OVCAR‑3 ovary cancer cell line was treated with oxymatrine at the concentrations of 0, 0.5, 1 and 2 mg/ml. Assessment of the proliferation and apoptosis of OVCAR‑3 cells showed that oxymatrine had an inhibitory effect on ovarian cancer cells. Furthermore, oxymatrine decreased the protein levels of MMP‑2 and increased the expression levels of miR‑29b in OVCAR‑3 cells. Through transfection of miR‑29b precursor into OVCAR‑3 cells, it was demonstrated that miR‑29b regulated MMP‑2 expression in OVCAR‑3 cells. In addition, anti‑miR‑29b antibodies were used to verify that the apoptotic effect of oxymatrine was due to upregulating miR‑29b and downregulating MMP‑2 expression. These results showed that oxymatrine suppresses the proliferation and facilitates apoptosis of human ovarian cancer cells through upregulating miR‑29b and downregulating MMP‑2 expression.