Celecoxib, a COX-2 selective inhibitor, induces cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase in HeLa cervical cancer cells

Abstract

Celecoxib, a selective inhibitor of COX-2, showed cytotoxic effects in many cancer cell lines including cervical cancer cells. This study investigated the effect of celecoxib on cell cycle arrest in HeLa cervical cancer cells through p53 expression. In vitro anticancer activity was determined with the 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5 diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) method. A double staining method was applied to investigate the mechanism of cell death, cell cycling was analyzed by flow cytometryand immunocytochemistry was employed to stain p53 expression in cells. Celecoxib showed strong cytotoxic effects and induced apoptosis with an IC50 value of 40 μM. It induced cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase by increasing level of p53 expression on HeLa cells.