Analyzing the Expression of Ovarian Cancer Genes in PA-1 Cells Lines After the Treatment of Thymoquinone

Background Ovarian cancer (OvCa) is the most common cause of gynecological malignancy that has a refractory response toward platinum therapy. The diagnosis of the disease happens at advanced stages and has a lesser survival rate in women. The reduced quality of life in women is due to the resistance to chemotherapy and radiation therapy and hence the need for the hours is novel therapies that can overcome drug resistance. Phytochemicals have been proven to play a pivotal role in OvCa, which inhibit proliferation, migration, invasion, and metastasis along with modulation expression of certain over-expressed genes.Objectives The study aimed to understand the gene expression of PI3KCA, PI3KCB, BRCA1, BRCA2, and RAD51 in ovarian cancer cell lines PA-1 post-treatment with Thymoquinone (TQ) and also study the compound's apoptotic activities.Results The results revealed that TQ treatment reduces the expression of BRCA1, BRCA2, and RAD51 in PA-1 cell lines, on the other hand, increases the expression of PI3KCA and PI3KCB. The IC50 obtained was used to visualize the apoptotic bodies, the morphology of the nucleus, nuclear condensation, and mitochondrial potential. Therefore, PA-1 cell lines displayed significant changes after the TQ treatment, and the above-mentioned genes can be used as a potential OvCa biomarker.