Effects of Akt inhibitor MK2206 on proliferation and apoptosis of breast cancer cells

Objective: To study the effects of Akt inhibitor MK2206 on the proliferation and apoptosis of human breast cancer cell lines T47D and MDA-MB-231, and to elucidate the possible mechanism of such effects. Methods: Human breast cancer T47D and MDA-MB-231 cells were treated with different concentrations of MK2206, respectively. The inhibitory effect of MK2206 on cell proliferation was examined by MTT assay. The apoptosis rates of T47D and MDA-MB-231 cells induced by MK2206 were detected by flow cytometry (FCM). The expression levels of caspase-3, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), bcl-2, bax, phosphorate-AKT (p-AKT) and total Akt (T-Akt) proteins were detected by Western blotting. Results: The proliferation of T47D and MDA-MB-231 cells were inhibited after treatment with MK2206 at 0.1, 1, 10 and 100 nmol/L for 24 h, respectively. The apoptosis rates of T47D and MDA-MB-231 cells were increased induced by MK2206. The expression levels of caspase-3, PARP and bax proteins were up-regulated, while the expression levels of bcl-2 and p-Akt proteins were down-regulated. All of these effects occurred in a dose-dependent manner. MK2206 had no significant effect on the expression of T-Akt. Conclusion: MK2206 can inhibit the proliferation and induce the apoptosis in human breast cancer cell lines T47D and MDA-MB-231. These effects may be related with the down-regulation of p-AKT and the inhibition of PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. DOI:10.3781/j.issn.1000-7431.2011.02.008