A Novel Approach to Unraveling the Apoptotic Potential of Rutin (Bioflavonoid) Via Targeting in Cervical Cancer Cells

Rutin has been well recognized for possessing numerous pharmacological and biological activities in several human cancer cells. This research has addressed the inhibitory potential of rutin against the oncogene in SiHa cancer cells, which is known to inactivate various tumor suppressor proteins including and . Further, the inhibitory efficacy of rutin via expression modulation in cervical cancer has not been yet elucidated. Hence, we hypothesized that rutin could exhibit strong inhibitory efficacy against and, thereby, induce significant growth arrest in SiHa cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. In our study, the cytotoxic efficacy of rutin on the proliferation of a cervical cancer cell line (SiHa) was exhibited using MTT and LDH assays. The correlation between rutin and mRNA expression was assessed by RT-PCR analysis and the associated events (a mechanism) with this downregulation were then explored via performing ROS assay, DAPI analysis, and expression analysis of apoptosis-associated signaling molecules such as , , and and -9 using qRT-PCR analysis. Results exhibit that rutin produces anticancer effects via inducing modulation in the expression of oncogenes as well as tumor suppressor genes. Further apoptosis induction, caspase activation, and ROS generation in rutin-treated SiHa cancer cells explain the cascade of events associated with downregulation in SiHa cancer cells. Additionally, apoptosis induction was further confirmed by the FITC-Annexin V/PI double staining method. Altogether, our research supports the feasibility of developing rutin as one of the potent drug candidates in cervical cancer management via targeting one such crucial oncogene associated with cervical cancer progression.