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Radiation therapy (RT) is the current standard adjuvant approach for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients. Radioresistance is a major contributor to radiotherapy failure. In this study, we used patient-derived cells and a radiation-resistant cell line in vitro and in vivo for two purposes: evaluate the anti-tumor effects and understand the mechanisms in the dual PI3K/mTOR signaling pathway regulation of radiosensitization. Our findings indicate that in OML1-R cells, the radioresistance phenotype is associated with activation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway. Compared to a combination of PI3K or mTOR inhibitors and radiation, dual blockade of the PI3K and mTOR kinases significantly improved radiation efficacy in oral cancer and patient-derived OSCC cells. Dual PI3K/mTOR inhibition enhanced the effect of radiation by inhibiting AKT/mTOR signaling pathways and caused G1 phase arrest, which is associated with downregulation of cyclin D1/CDK4 activity, leading to growth inhibition. In nude mice xenografted with radioresistant OML1-R cells, the combined treatment was also more effective than RT alone in reducing tumor growth. This treatment was also demonstrated to be dependent on the inhibition of protein kinase-dependent S6 kinase pathway and eIF4E-mediated cap-dependent translation. These findings indicate that activation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway has a role in radioresistance of OSCC. We determined that a PI3K/mTOR inhibitor combined with radiation exhibits synergistic inhibition of the AKT/mTOR axis and induces cell cycle arrest. Our results show the therapeutic potential of drugs targeting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway should be new candidate drugs for radiosensitization in radiotherapy.

The ability of immobilized lipase from Candida antarctica (Novozym 435) to catalyze the alcoholysis of canola oil and methanol was investigated. Response surface methodology (RSM) and five-level-five-factor central composite rotatable design (CCRD) were employed to evaluate the effects of synthesis parameters, such as reaction time, temperature, enzyme concentration, substrate molar ratio of methanol to canola oil, and added water content on percentage weight conversion of canola oil methyl ester by alcoholysis. Reaction temperature and enzyme concentration were the most important variables. High temperature and superabundant methanol inhibited the ability of Novozym 435 to catalyze the synthesis of biodiesel. Based on the analysis of ridge max, the optimum synthesis conditions were as follows: reaction time 12.4 h, temperature 38.0• C, enzyme concentration 42.3%, substrate molar ratio 3.5:1, and added water 7.2%. The predicted value was 99.4% weight conversion, and the actual experimental value was 97.9% weight conversion.

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Norcantharidin (NCTD), a chemically modified form of cantharidin, is a potential anticancer drug. This study investigated the effect of NCTD on anoikis in CT26 colorectal adenocarcinoma cells. NCTD treatment of CT26 cells showed a dose-dependent and time-dependent decrease in viability and cell proliferation. Growth inhibition was accompanied by cell cycle arrest in the S and G2/M phases. Mitogen-activated protein kinase expression, assayed by Western blot, was unchanged except for Jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK). At 24 h of treatment with 0-20 micromol/l NCTD, JNK expression increased at 24 h, but then decreased at 48 h; in contrast, the phosphorylated JNK levels markedly increased. JNK inhibitor (SP600125) in the culture effectively blocked NCTD-induced cytotoxicity and detachment of cells. CT26 cells treated with NCTD not only displayed inhibited cell adhesion and down-expression of integrin beta1, but also changed from being shuttle-shaped to round, the latter cells being more susceptible to anoikis-mediated apoptosis. Flow cytometric assay of the DNA content in NCTD-treated CT26 cells at 24 and 48 h showed a marked increase in the sub-G1 level, indicating that NCTD induced apoptosis. NCTD inhibited the viability of CT26 cancer cells preferentially over normal bone marrow and mononuclear cells. NCTD inhibits CT26 cancer cells by blocking proliferation and inducing anoikis-mediated apoptosis, a process that might be regulated by JNK activation.

Norcantharidin (NCTD), a potential anti-cancer drug, is the demethylated analog of cantharidin isolated from blister beetles. The present study investigated the effect of NCTD on tumor invasion and metastasis. A cytotoxicity assay of NCTD in CT26 colorectal adenocarcinoma cells showed a dose- and time-dependent decrease in cell viability. NCTD (50 microM)-treated CT26 cells not only showed an inhibited cell invasion of 65.6%, but also decreased the activity of matrix metalloproteinase-2 and -9. NCTD decreased the adhesive ability of CT26 cells in a dose-dependent manner. At a concentration of 100 microM, NCTD showed a down-expression of several cadherin-catenin adhesion molecules, including Desmoglein, N-cadherin, and alpha- and beta-catenin, while there were no obvious changes in E-cadherin and gamma-catenin. Intraperitoneal injection of NCTD (2 mg/kg/day) in BALB/c mice reduced both the pulmonary metastatic capacity of CT26 cells and prolonged the survival day of the mice. These results demonstrated that it was effective in blocking both tumor invasion and metastasis.

Melanoma is a malignancy with high potential to invasion and treatment resistance. The α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) signal transduction involving Wnt/β-catenin, c-Kit, and microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF), a known pathway to produce melanin, has been demonstrated as one of cancer stem cell characteristics. This study was aimed to examine the effect of resveratrol, an abundant ingredient of grape and medicinal plants, on α-MSH signaling, viability, and invasiveness in melanoma cells. By α-MSH treatment, the melanin production in B16 melanoma cells was augmented as a validation for activation of α-MSH signaling. The upregulated expression of α-MSH signaling-related molecules β-catenin, c-Kit, and MITF was suppressed by resveratrol and/or STI571 treatment. Nuclear translocation of MITF, a hallmark of α-MSH signaling activation, was inhibited by combined treatment of resveratrol and STI571. At effective concentration, resveratrol and/or STI571 inhibited cell viability and α-MSH-activated matrix metalloproteinase- (MMP-)9 expression and invasion capacity of B16 melanoma cells. In conclusion, resveratrol enhances STI571 effect on suppressing the α-MSH signaling, viability, and invasiveness in melanoma cells. It implicates that resveratrol may have potential to modulate the cancer stem cell characteristics of melanoma.