Effects of Sodium Valproate on the Growth of Human Ovarian Cancer Cell Line HO8910

To explore a possible new treatment for human ovarian cancer, we studied the effects of sodium valproateon the growth of the HO8910 human cell line. HO8910 cells were cultured in vitro and treated with differentconcentrations of sodium valproate. Cell proliferation, cell cycling, and apoptosis were measured by flowcytometry, cell morphology under a microscope, and expression levels of WWOX and P27 by Western blottingand RT-PCR. Tumor xenografts were established to determine in vivo effects of sodium valproate. Our resultsshowed that cell proliferation was decreased with increasing concentration of sodium valproate, with features ofcytoplasmic retraction and floating cells. Moreover, cell cycle analysis revealed a higher apoptosis rate and G0/G1 phase in the sodium valproate experimental group than in the control group. In addition, protein expressionlevels of WWOX and P27 were elevated. Importantly, sodium valproate decreased in vivo xenograft tumor burdenand up-regulated WWOX and P27 expression in nude mice. In conclusion, sodium valproate might play a rolein inhibition and control of ovarian cancer cell line HO8910 by inhibiting cell proliferation, interfering with thecell cycle and promoting apoptosis, so that it may be effective in the clinical treatment of ovarian cancer.