Effects of Fenofibrate on the Growth and Migration of Ovarian Cancer Cells in vitro

Objective To investigate the effects of fenofibrate, a lipid-lowering drug, on the growth and migration of human ovarian cancer cells SKOV3 in vitro. Methods A human ovarian cancer cell line (SKOV3) as the research object, was incubated with serum-free media for 24 h. These cells were then treated by appropriate concentrations of fenofibrate for different time, including control and experimental groups. Cell proliferation was evaluated by MTT assay. Apoptosis was detected by Hoechst/PI and Annexin-Ⅴ/PI fluorescent assay. The migration of cells was measured by the scratch-wound healing assay. Results The MTT assay results demonstrated that the fenofibrate (10, 25, 50, 75, 100 μmol/L) could inhibit the proliferation of SKOV3 cells after 24, 48 and 72 h treatment (P<0.05). The inhibition rate for 24, 48, 72 h-treatment was 55.72%±0.28%, 57.63%±0.47%, 72.41%±0.62% respectively (P<0.05). The effects increased with the concentrations. Hoechst/PI and Annexin-Ⅴ/PI fluorescent assay showed that after stimulus for 24 h, fenofibrate induced apoptosis of SKOV3 cells in a concentration-dependent manner was observed. A significant inhibited cells migration distance (P<0.05) evaluated with scratch-wound healing assay was observed after treatment with fenofibrate (10, 25, 50, 75, 100 μmol/L) for 24 h. Conclusion Lipid-lowering drug fenofibrate can inhibit the growth and migration of human ovarian cancer cell SKOV3 in vitro, to some extent induce apoptosis. But the detailed mechanism need to be further studied.