Celastrol Induces Apoptosis of Esophagus Cancer Cells by Inhibiting PI3K/Akt Signaling Pathway

HOU Yao¹, PEI Rong², XU Jia¹, CHEN Jing¹, WU Chunlian¹*

(¹Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (China West Normal University), Ministry of Education, Nanchong 637009, China; ²School of Public Health, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 611137, China)

Abstract:

Increasing evidence indicates that Cel (celastrol) promotes apoptosis. However, the effects of celastrol on EC (esophageal cancer) have not been investigated. This study investigated the effect of celastrol on esophageal cancer ECA-109 cell proliferation and apoptosis in vitro and it revealed that cell proliferation was inhibited by celastrol in dose-dependent manner and was significantly inhibited at high concentrations ( ≥ 1.0 μmol/L). Treatment with celastrol significantly increased the mRNA and protein expression of Bax and p53, while the expression of Bcl2 and the phosphorylation of Akt, NF-κB-p65, PDK1 and PTEN were inhibited. These findings reveal a potential mechanisms by which celastrol affects the proliferation and apoptosis of esophageal cancer cells and suggest that celastrol has potential application value in the treatment of esophageal cancer.

CSTR: 32200.14.cjcb.2021.11.0006