Objective To investigate the expression level of NF-κB in normal cervical tissues, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia(CIN) tissues and cervical cancer tissues, and the effect of NF-κB decoy ODN on the apoptosis of cervical cancer cells HeLa.

Methods We collected the tissues of normal cervical (n=12), cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (n=22) and cervical cancer (n=42) from the Department of Obstetric and Gynecology, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from Feb. 2013 to Feb. 2014. The expression of NF-κB was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. NF-κB decoy ODN and missense NF-κB decoy ODN were transfected into HeLa cells using Lipofectamine 2000. Cell viability was measured by MTT assay. The apoptosis of HeLa cells was detected by flow cytometry.

Results The expression of NF-κB in cervical cancer tissues was significantly increased. NF-κB decoy ODN could inhibit the proliferation of cervical cancer cells, and enhance the apoptosis induced by cisplatin.

Conclusion The activation of NF-κB signals can be blocked by the NF-κB decoy ODN, then the cell proliferation was inhibited and the apoptosis was induced by cisplatin, which provides new targets and the treatment for cervical cancer.