Abstract
Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death among gynecological malignancies worldwide. Surgery and chemotherapy are the primary treatment modalities; however, their effectiveness significantly diminishes in the advanced stages of the disease. There is emerging evidence suggesting that natural products, including phytochemicals, could be beneficial in treating ovarian cancer. In this study, we employed SKOV3 cells to investigate the anticancer activity and the specific mechanisms of corylin, a principal flavonoid isolated from the fruit of Psoralea corylifolia. Corylin inhibited SKOV3 cell proliferation and colony formation in a dose-dependent manner. It also induced apoptosis through the activation of caspases and disruption of the mitochondrial membrane potential. Moreover, corylin caused G0/G1 cell cycle arrest by modifying the levels of cyclin D1 and the phosphorylated retinoblastoma protein. Further mechanistic studies demonstrated a marked downregulation of Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) phosphorylation, nuclear localization, and target gene expression in corylin-treated SKOV3 cells. These findings suggest that corylin is a promising therapeutic agent for inhibiting cancer cell proliferation by targeting STAT3 in ovarian cancer.