RESUMEN
Sipi soup (SPS), the aqueous extract derived from the root bark of Sophora japonical L, Salix babylonica L., Morus alba L., as well as Amygdalus davidiana (Carr.) C. de Vos, is a traditional Chinese medicine frequently used to prevent and treat infection and inflammation. However, the role of SPS in cancerassociated fibroblasts (CAFs) require further investigation. In the present study, the effects of SPS on fibroblast inactivation and the underlying mechanism were investigated. Reverse transcriptionquantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to analyze the mRNA expression levels of fibroblast activation protein (FAP), interleukin (IL)6, αsmooth muscle actin (αSMA) and programmed cell death 4 (PDCD4). Flow cytometry was used to evaluate cell apoptosis. Immunofluorescence was used to determine the number of activated fibroblasts. The present study reported that SPS treatment did not affect the proliferative apoptotic potential of fibroblasts. Treatment with HeLa cell culture medium (CM) induced a significant increase in the expression levels of FAP, IL6 and αSMA, but reduced the expression of PDCD4. SPS reversed the effects of HeLa CM on the expression of these genes. Analysis with a long noncoding (lnc)RNA array of numerous differentially expressed lncRNAs revealed that the expression levels of the lncRNA homeodomaininteracting protein kinase 1 antisense RNA (HIPK1AS) were increased in cervicitis tissues and cervical squamous cell carcinoma tissues compared with in normal cervical tissues. HIPK1AS expression levels were upregulated in response to HeLa CM, but were decreased under SPS treatment. The downregulation of HIPK1AS expression via short hairpin RNA abolished the effects of HeLa CM on the expression of inflammationassociated genes. The findings of the present study suggested that SPS may prevent the progression of cervical cancer by inhibiting the activation of CAF and the inflammatory process by reducing HIPK1AS expression.