Background: Phytosterols have physiological effects and are used as medicines or food supplements. Stigmasterol has shown anticancer effects against various cancers such as hepatoma, cholangiocarcinoma, gall bladder carcinoma, endometrial adenocarcinoma and skin, gastric, breast, prostate, and cervical cancer. However, there are no reports on stigmasterol’s effects on ovarian cancer. Methods: We investigated the effects of stigmasterol on proapoptotic signals, mitochondrial function, reactive oxygen species production, and the cytosolic and mitochondrial calcium levels in human ovarian cancer cells, to understand the mechanisms underlying the effects of stigmasterol on ovarian cancer cells. We also conducted migration assay to confirm whether that stigmasterol inhibits ovarian cancer cell migration. Results: Stigmasterol inhibited development of human ovarian cancer cells. However, it induced cell apoptosis, ROS production, and calcium overload in ES2 and OV90 cells. In addition, stigmasterol stimulated cell death by activating the ER-mitochondrial axis. We confirmed that stigmasterol suppressed cell migration and angiogenesis genes in human ovarian cancer cells. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that stigmasterol can be used as a new treatment for ovarian cancer.

中文翻译：

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豆甾醇通过诱导内质网和线粒体功能障碍引起卵巢癌细胞凋亡。

背景：植物甾醇具有生理作用，被用作药物或食品补充剂。豆甾醇已显示出对各种癌症的抗癌作用，例如肝癌，胆管癌，胆囊癌，子宫内膜腺癌和皮肤癌，胃癌，乳腺癌，前列腺癌和宫颈癌。但是，没有关于豆固醇对卵巢癌的作用的报道。方法：我们研究了斯蒂格母醇对人卵巢癌细胞中凋亡信号，线粒体功能，活性氧的产生以及胞质和线粒体钙水平的影响，以了解斯蒂格母醇对卵巢癌细胞的影响机制。我们还进行了迁移试验，以确认豆甾醇是否抑制卵巢癌细胞的迁移。结果：豆甾醇抑制人卵巢癌细胞的发育。但是，它在ES2和OV90细胞中诱导细胞凋亡，ROS生成和钙超载。另外，豆甾醇通过激活ER-线粒体轴刺激细胞死亡。我们证实豆甾醇可以抑制人卵巢癌细胞中的细胞迁移和血管生成基因。结论：我们的研究结果表明，豆甾醇可以用作卵巢癌的新疗法。