Interfering with cellular signaling pathways enhances sensitization to combined sodium butyrate and GCV treatment in EBV-positive tumor cells

He, Y; Cai, S; Zhang, Ge; Li, X; Pan, L; Du, Jun

HERO ID

1458133

Reference Type

Journal Article

Year

2008

Language

English

PMID

18455826

HERO ID 1458133
In Press No
Year 2008
Title Interfering with cellular signaling pathways enhances sensitization to combined sodium butyrate and GCV treatment in EBV-positive tumor cells
Authors He, Y; Cai, S; Zhang, Ge; Li, X; Pan, L; Du, Jun
Journal Virus Research
Volume 135
Issue 1
Page Numbers 175-180
Abstract The combination of sodium butyrate (NaB) and ganciclovir (GCV) was considered to be a noteworthy therapeutic strategy in Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated cancers. However, clinical studies have indicated that an extremely high dose of NaB is required to obtain the expected curative efficacy. This obviously limits the practical clinical application of the two drugs combined. In this study, we investigated the possibility of sensitizing tumor cells to NaB and GCV mediated cytotoxicity by modulating intracellular signal pathways. The results showed that the disruption of Ras/Raf activity by expressing dominant negative forms of both Ras and Raf-1 did not alter the potency of the NaB and GCV combination in the EBV-positive cell line, B95-8. However, blocking Akt activity by expressing its dominant negative form remarkably promoted NaB and GCV-mediated cytotoxicity via a thymidine kinase (TK)-independent mechanism. Interestingly, it was found that the constitutive activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase 1 (MEKK1) dramatically enhanced the sensitization of the cells to the combination of NaB and GCV, accompanied with an increase in TK expression in B95-8 cells. These results suggest that interfering with either the Akt or MEKK1 signaling pathway may be a useful therapeutic strategy to increase the sensitivity of EBV-positive tumor cells to the combination of NaB and GCV.
Doi 10.1016/j.virusres.2008.03.012
Pmid 18455826
Wosid WOS:000257185900023
Is Certified Translation No
Dupe Override No
Comments Source: Web of Science WOS:000257185900023
Is Public Yes
Language Text English
Keyword Epstein-Barr virus; ganciclovir; sodium butyrate; thymidine kinase; Akt; MEKK1