title: Volasertib suppresses tumor growth and potentiates the activity of cisplatin in cervical cancer.
abstract: Volasertib (BI 6727), a highly selective and potent inhibitor of PLK1, has shown broad antitumor activities in the preclinical and clinical studies for the treatment of several types of cancers. However, the anticancer effect of volasertib on cervical cancer cells is still unknown. In the present study, we show that volasertib can markedly induce cell growth inhibition, cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase and apoptosis with the decreased protein expressions of PLK1 substrates survivin and wee1 in human cervical cancer cells. Furthermore, volasertib also enhances the intracellular reactive oxidative species (ROS) levels, and pretreated with ROS scavenger N-acety-L-cysteine totally blocks ROS generation but partly reverses volasertib-induced apoptosis. In addition, volasertib significantly potentiates the activity of cisplatin to inhibit the growth of cervical cancer in vitro and in vivo. In brief, volasertib suppresses tumor growth and potentiates the activity of cisplatin in cervical cancer, suggesting the combination of volasertib and cisplatin may be a promising strategy for the treatment of patients with cervical cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University Wenzhou 325000, Zhejiang, China.
authors.forename: Feng-Feng
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University Wenzhou 325000, Zhejiang, China.
authors.forename: Shi-Shi
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University Wenzhou 325000, Zhejiang, China.
authors.forename: Rong-Ying
authors.initials: RY
authors.lastname: Ou
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University Wenzhou 325000, Zhejiang, China.
authors.forename: Zhen-Zhen
authors.initials: ZZ
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University Wenzhou 325000, Zhejiang, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Xiu
authors.initials: XX
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University Wenzhou 325000, Zhejiang, China.
authors.forename: Meng-Ting
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Jian
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology & Institute of Biomedicine, National Engineering Research Center of Genetic Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Bioengineering Medicine, College of Life Science and Technology, Jinan University Guangzhou 510632, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Jian-Ge
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology & Institute of Biomedicine, National Engineering Research Center of Genetic Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Bioengineering Medicine, College of Life Science and Technology, Jinan University Guangzhou 510632, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Wen-Ji
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology & Institute of Biomedicine, National Engineering Research Center of Genetic Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Bioengineering Medicine, College of Life Science and Technology, Jinan University Guangzhou 510632, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Qi-Wei
authors.initials: QW
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology & Institute of Biomedicine, National Engineering Research Center of Genetic Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Bioengineering Medicine, College of Life Science and Technology, Jinan University Guangzhou 510632, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemoradiotherpay, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University Wenzhou 325000, Zhejiang, China.
authors.forename: Wen-Feng
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology & Institute of Biomedicine, National Engineering Research Center of Genetic Medicine, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Bioengineering Medicine, College of Life Science and Technology, Jinan University Guangzhou 510632, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Zhi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynecology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University Wenzhou 325000, Zhejiang, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Jian
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Yan
keywords: Volasertib; cervical cancer; cisplatin; combination therapy