Abstract
Cervical cancer is the third most common malignancy worldwide, accounting for 250,000 mortalities annually. Notch1, an important regulator of cell-fate decisions and differentiation, has been found to be overexpressed in certain types of cancer. However, the role of Notch1 in cervical carcinogenesis remains unclear. In the present study, immunohistochemical staining and western blot analysis revealed that Notch1 expression was significantly higher in cervical cancer tissues than that in normal cervical tissues. Furthermore, statistical analysis revealed that Notch1 expression was significantly associated with tumor differentiation and tumor stage. These findings indicated that Notch1 expression was associated with the progression of cervical cancer. The western blot assay also identified a positive correlation between Notch1 and Ki67 expression in cervical cancer tissues, which suggested that Notch1 expression may be associated with the proliferation of cervical cancer. In order to further evaluate the specific role of Notch1 in cervical cancer progression, its expression in SiHa and C33A cells was knocked down using small interfering RNA. It was revealed that the knockdown of Notch1 in SiHa and C33A cells resulted in significant inhibition of cell proliferation and colony formation in vitro. These results indicated that Notch1 was able to promote cell proliferation in cervical cancer. In conclusion, the results of the present study indicated that Notch1 may function as a promoter in cervical carcinogenesis.