1. Academic Validation
  2. mTOR inhibitor PP242 increases antitumor activity of sulforaphane by blocking Akt/mTOR pathway in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

mTOR inhibitor PP242 increases antitumor activity of sulforaphane by blocking Akt/mTOR pathway in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

  • Mol Biol Rep. 2022 Jan;49(1):451-461. doi: 10.1007/s11033-021-06895-9.
Zhaoming Lu 1 2 Yalin Zhang 1 Yujia Xu 1 Huiyun Wei 1 Wen Zhao 1 3 Pengju Wang 4 Yan Li 5 Guiqin Hou 6 7
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 State Key Laboratory of Esophageal Cancer Prevention & Treatment, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China.
  • 2 Collaborative Innovation Center of Cancer Chemoprevention, Zhengzhou, 450001, Henan Province, China.
  • 3 Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Preparation Technologies, Ministry of Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, China.
  • 4 Sino-British Research Centre for Molecular Oncology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, National Centre for International Research in Cell and Gene Therapy, Academy of Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, China.
  • 5 Center of Advanced Analysis & Gene Sequencing, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China. 348682096@qq.com.
  • 6 State Key Laboratory of Esophageal Cancer Prevention & Treatment, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China. hougq@zzu.edu.cn.
  • 7 Key Laboratory of Advanced Drug Preparation Technologies, Ministry of Education, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450052, China. hougq@zzu.edu.cn.
Abstract

Background: Sulforaphane (SFN) is a kind of isothiocyanate from Cruciferous vegetables with extensive anti-tumor activity. Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a popular malignancy in East Asia, East and South Africa, while the more efficient medicines and therapeutic strategies are still lack. This study aims to explore the anti-tumor activity of SFN alone and combined with Akt/mTOR pathway inhibitors as well as the potential molecular mechanism in ESCC.

Methods and results: Cell proliferation, migration, cell cycle phase, Apoptosis and protein expression were detected with MTT assay, clone formation experiment, wound healing assays, flow cytometry and Western blot, respectively, after ESCC cells ECa109 and EC9706 treated with SFN alone or combined with Akt/mTOR inhibitors. Xenograft models were used to evaluate the efficiency and mechanism of SFN combined with PP242 in vivo. The results showed that SFN significantly inhibited the viability and induced Apoptosis of ECa109 and EC9706 cells by increasing expression of Cleaved-caspase 9. SFN combined with PP242, but not MK2206 and RAD001, synergetic inhibited proliferation of ESCC cells. Moreover, compared to SFN alone, combination of SFN and PP242 had stronger inhibiting efficiency on clone formation, cell migratory, cell cycle phase and growth of xenografts, as well as the more powerful apoptosis-inducing effects on ESCC. The mechanism was that PP242 abrogated the promoting effects of SFN on p-p70S6K (Thr389) and p-Akt (Ser473) in ESCC.

Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that PP242 enhances the anti-tumor activity of SFN by blocking SFN-induced activation of Akt/mTOR pathway in ESCC, which provides a rationale for treating ESCC using SFN combined with Akt/mTOR pathway inhibitors.

Keywords

Akt; Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; PP242; Sulforaphane; p70S6K.

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