Celastrol inhibit the proliferation, invasion and migration of human cervical HeLa cancer cells through down‐regulation of MMP‐2 and MMP‐9

The present study evaluated the anticancer potential of celastrol through down‐regulation of matrix metalloproteinase‐2 (MMP‐2) and MMP‐9. HeLa cells were incubated with different concentrations of celastrol (1, 10 and 100 µM) for 48h. Doxorubicin was used as a reference drug. Cancer cell migration, apoptosis, cell viability and mitochondrial fragmentation were evaluated following celastrol treatment. In addition, the expression level of MMP‐2, MMP‐9 and caspase‐3 was evaluated following celastrol treatment. HeLa cell viability was 94.1 ± 7, 53.4 ± 4 and 36.3 ± 2% at 1‐100 µM of celastrol, respectively. Apoptotic cell numbers were increased, and inhibition of larger wounds in cancer cells was observed following celastrol treatment. Celastrol‐treated cells showed condensed nuclei and clumped mitochondria. Reduced expression of MMP‐2 and MMP‐9 and increased expression of caspase‐3 were observed following celastrol treatment. Based on the experimental results, we are concluding that the celastrol was effective against HeLa cervical cancer cells.