Transcriptome analysis reveals possible antitumor mechanism of intracellular polysaccharide from Phaeodactylum tricornutum on cervical cancer HeLa cells

As a natural non‐toxic antitumor substance, seaweed polysaccharide has become a research hotspot. To investigate the anti‐tumor effect and mechanism of Phaeodactylum tricornutum intracellular polysaccharides, the intracellular polysaccharides from Phaeodactylum tricornutum (PRP) were isolated and purified in this paper. The inhibitory effects of different purified polysaccharide components on cervical cancer cells were investigated, and the anti‐tumor mechanism was revealed by transcriptome analysis. The results showed that all four P.tricornutum purified polysaccharide components could inhibit the proliferation of HeLa cells, reduce cell viability and change cell morphology. The results of the CCK‐8 test showed that among the four purified polysaccharide components, PRP4 showed the best inhibitory effect. Transcriptome analysis showed that there were 806 differentially expressed genes I n the PRP4 treatment group compared with the control group, including 570 up‐regulated genes and 236 down‐regulated genes. The results of gene function enrichment showed that differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were significantly enriched in apoptosis and tumour‐related biological processes, which were involved in multiple cancer and apoptosis‐related signaling pathways. Protein‐protein interaction network identified 10 DEGS as central genes, including IL1B, CXCL8, MMP9, THBS1, CXCR4, LOX, TGFB1, VWF, PTGS2, and TLR4. Our results suggest that PRP4 is a promising cancer therapeutic agent.