To observe the effects of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UC-MSCs) on the proliferation and apoptosis of human ovarian cancer cell SKOV3.
 Methods: Transwell co-culture was used to observe the targeted homing effect of UC-MSCs on ovarian cancer cells. MTT assay was used to detect the inhibitory effect of UC-MSCs conditioned medium on SKOV3 proliferation, and Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining was used to detect the apoptotic rate. Real-time PCR was used to detect the expression levels of Ki-67, Bcl-2 and Bax genes-relevant to proliferation and apoptosis of SKOV3 cells.
 Results: UC-MSCs targeted SKOV3 cells in vitro. MTT assay showed that UC-MSCs conditioned medium significantly inhibited the proliferation of SKOV3 cells (P<0.01). Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining showed that the apoptotic rate in the 75% conditioned medium group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). Real-time PCR showed that the expression of proliferation-related gene Ki-67 decreased significantly (P<0.01). The apoptosis-related gene Bcl-2 expression was decreased dramatically (P<0.01), and Bax expression was increased significantly (P<0.01).
 Conclusion: UC-MSCs can target ovarian cancer cells in vitro, inhibit the proliferation of SKOV3 cells by regulating the expression of Ki-67, and promote the apoptosis of SKOV3 cells by regulating the expression of Bcl-2 and Bax.
Apoptosis ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; Female ; Humans ; Mesenchymal Stem Cells ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; Umbilical Cord