PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway inhibitors enhance radiosensitivity in radioresistant prostate cancer cells through inducing apoptosis, reducing autophagy, suppressing NHEJ and HR repair pathways

Cell Death Dis. 2014 Oct 2;5(10):e1437. doi: 10.1038/cddis.2014.415.

Abstract

The PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway has a central role in cancer metastasis and radiotherapy. To develop effective therapeutics to improve radiosensitivity, understanding the possible pathways of radioresistance involved and the effects of a combination of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR inhibitors with radiotherapy on prostate cancer (CaP) radioresistant cells is needed. We found that compared with parent CaP cells, CaP-radioresistant cells demonstrated G0/G1 and S phase arrest, activation of cell cycle check point, autophagy and DNA repair pathway proteins, and inactivation of apoptotic proteins. We also demonstrated that compared with combination of single PI3K or mTOR inhibitors (BKM120 or Rapamycin) and radiation, low-dose of dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitors (BEZ235 or PI103) combined with radiation greatly improved treatment efficacy by repressing colony formation, inducing more apoptosis, leading to the arrest of the G2/M phase, increased double-strand break levels and less inactivation of cell cycle check point, autophagy and non-homologous end joining (NHEJ)/homologous recombination (HR) repair pathway proteins in CaP-radioresistant cells. This study describes the possible pathways associated with CaP radioresistance and demonstrates the putative mechanisms of the radiosensitization effect in CaP-resistant cells in the combination treatment. The findings from this study suggest that the combination of dual PI3K/Akt/mTOR inhibitors (BEZ235 or PI103) with radiotherapy is a promising modality for the treatment of CaP to overcome radioresistance.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Apoptosis / drug effects
  • Apoptosis / radiation effects
  • Autophagy*
  • Cell Cycle / drug effects
  • Cell Cycle / radiation effects
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • DNA End-Joining Repair* / drug effects
  • DNA End-Joining Repair* / radiation effects
  • Enzyme Inhibitors / pharmacology*
  • Homologous Recombination* / drug effects
  • Homologous Recombination* / radiation effects
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / genetics
  • Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / metabolism
  • Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors*
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / drug therapy
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / genetics
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / physiopathology*
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / radiotherapy
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / genetics
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / metabolism
  • Radiation Tolerance / drug effects
  • Radiation Tolerance / radiation effects
  • Signal Transduction / drug effects
  • Signal Transduction / radiation effects
  • TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases / genetics
  • TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases / metabolism

Substances

  • Enzyme Inhibitors
  • Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors
  • MTOR protein, human
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt
  • TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases