Tetramethylpyrazine inhibits the proliferation, invasiveness and migration of cervical cancer C33A cells by retarding the Hedgehog signaling pathway

Cervical carcinoma (CC) ranks among the top four most common cancers in women worldwide. Over the last 10 years, several studies have confirmed the inhibitory effects of tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) on numerous types of cancer. To investigate the inhibitory effect of TMP on the CC C33A cell line, MTT and colony formation assays were performed to determine how TMP affects C33A cell survival and proliferation. Proliferation-, migration- and hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway-related protein expression levels were analyzed via western blotting. Wound-healing and Transwell assays were used to detect the migration and invasion abilities of C33A cells, respectively. The results indicated that TMP markedly reduced the C33A cell survival rate compared with the cervical epithelial Ect1 cell line, which was unaffected by TMP treatment. C33A cell proliferation was downregulated by TMP treatment in a dose-dependent manner. TMP treatment also significantly inhibited C33A cell migration and invasiveness in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, TMP inhibited the Hh signaling pathway, as demonstrated by a dose-dependent reduction in Hh-related protein expression levels following TMP treatment. Subsequently, treatment with smoothened agonist increased the proliferation, invasiveness and migration abilities of TMP-treated C33A cells. In conclusion, TMP inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasiveness of CC cells via inhibition of the Hh signaling pathway.