Isoflavones induce cell apoptosis by inhibiting autophagy in ovarian and endometrial cancer cells

Abstract Epithelial ovarian cancer and breast cancer are common gynecological malignancies with high mortality rates. Isoflavones are phytoestrogens that are ubiquitous in food and Chinese herbs. Although many epidemiological studies have shown that ingestion of isoflavones could decrease the risk of ovarian and breast cancer, their cellular functions and underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study used isoflavones to treat the breast and ovarian cancer cell lines SKOV-3 and MCF-7, which have high estrogen levels. Cell number and viability were measured using cell counting and MTS assays, respectively. Real-time quantitative PCR and western blotting were used to investigate the expression levels of key apoptotic factors. The results showed that isoflavones inhibited the proliferation and viability of SKOV-3 and MCF-7 cells under high estrogen levels. The expression levels of p62, LC3B, Caspase3, Bax, and Cyt c were significantly increased, whereas the expression levels of Bcl-2 were significantly decreased when treated with isoflavone. These results suggest that isoflavones can inhibit autophagy and induce apoptosis in ovarian and breast cancer cells at high estrogen levels. These findings provide a new theoretical basis for the treatment of malignant gynecological tumors.