Abstract: Objective:To explore the induction of oxaziridine on the apoptosis of human cervical cancer HeLa cells and its mechanism. Methods:The human cervical cancer HeLa cells were treated with 0,0.5,1.0,5.0 and 10.0 μmol·L^-1 oxaziridine for 24 h and used as control group and different concentrations of experiment groups. The morphology of HeLa cells was observed under inverted microscope; the surival rates and inhibitroy rates of proliferation of the HeLa cells in various groups were measured by MTT assay. The HeLa cells were treated with 0,0.5,1.0 and 5.0 μmol·L^-1 oxaziridine for 12 h, and Hoechst 33258 staining was used to detect the apoptotic morphology of the cells; Western blotting method was used to detect the relative expression levels of Bcl-2 and Bax proteins. Results:The MTT assay results showed that the survival rates of the HeLa cells in 0.5,1.0,5.0 and 10.0 μmol·L^-1 groups were decreased and the inhibitory rates of proliferation of the HeLa cells were increased(P<0.05 or P<0.01)compared with control group, and the half inhibitory concentration(IC₅₀)was 2.6 μmol·L^-1. The cells in control group(0 μmol·L^-1 oxaziridine group) were in good condition, and the volumes of the HeLa cells in 0.5, 1.0,5.0 and 10 μmol·L^-1 groups were significantly reduced and the intercellular junction also disappeared. The Hoechst 33258 staining results showed the enhanced staining in the cells treated with oxaziridine.The Western blotting results showed that compared with control group(0 μmol·L^-1 oxaziridine group), the relative expression levels of Bcl-2 protein in the HeLa cells in 0.5, 1.0 and 5.0 μmol·L^-1 oxaziridine groups were significantly decreased(P<0.05 or P<0.01), and the relative expression levels of Bax protein were significantly increased (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Conclusion:Oxaziridine can effectively inhibit the proliferation of HeLa cells in vitro and induce the apoptosis of HeLa cells.

Key words: HeLa cells, cell proliferation, apoptosis, oxaziridine, cervical neoplasms