Objective      To investigate the effect of protein kinase CK2 inhibitor 4

5

6

7-tetrabromobenzotriazole (TBB) on the proliferation and apoptosis of ovarian cancer CAOV3 cells and on the expression of Bcl-2 and Bax

and explore the possible mechanism.       Methods      CAOV3 cells were cultured in vitro and divided into a control group

a dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) group

and four TBB groups treated with different concentrations (12.5

25

50 and 75 μmol/L

respectively) of TBB. The proliferation of CAOV3 cells was measured by MTT assay

and the cell apoptosis was determined by flow cytometry. The changes of Bcl-2 and Bax proteins were detected by Western blotting.       Results      MTT assay showed that the proliferation rates of CAOV3 cells were (73.00±2.76)%

(67.00±3.51)%

(52.00±2.83)% and (40.00±1.75)%

respectively

in the 4 TBB groups

while that of the control group was (92.00±4.36)%. The cell proliferation inhibitory effect and cell apoptosis rate were increased as TBB concentration was increased (P0.01). The expression of Bcl-2 and CK2α proteins in CAOV3 cells treated with different concentrations of TBB were decreased

while Bax protein was increased as compared with the control group (P0.01).       Conclusion      TBB can induce apoptosis of ovarian cancer CAOV3 cells by down-regulating Bcl-2 protein and up-regulating Bax protein.