title: Effect of the dual phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitor NVP-BEZ235 against human Merkel cell carcinoma MKL-1 cells.
abstract: Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is an aggressive skin cancer with an increasing incidence. Aberrant activation of the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway is common in human cancers and has been revealed to play an important function in cell proliferation, metabolism and tumorigenesis. In the present study, NVP-BEZ235, a dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor, was revealed to be effective in inhibiting proliferation and inducing cell cycle arrest in MKL-1 cells. Additional investigations revealed that NVP-BEZ235 attenuated PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling and upregulated the levels of the cell cycle inhibitors p21 and p27. Overall, the present results possess considerable implications for future development of dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor as potential agents in the management of MCC.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Center, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhenyu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mei
authors.affiliation: Cancer Center, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jiquan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Cancer Center, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhongyuan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Cancer Center, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430022, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wu
keywords: cell cycle; mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitor; merkel cell carcinoma; phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase inhibitor