The in Vitro and in Vivo Effects of 2-(4-Morpholinyl)-8-phenyl-chromone (LY294002), a Specific Inhibitor of Phosphatidylinositol 3′-Kinase, in Human Colon Cancer Cells

Purpose: Phosphatidylinositol 3′-kinase (PI3K) and Akt/protein kinase B(PKB) allow for escape from apoptosis in various human cancer cells. We postulated that 2-(4-morpholinyl)-8-phenyl-chromone (LY294002), a PI3K inhibitor, should inactivate Akt/PKB, consequently inhibiting cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis in vitro and in vivo . Experimental Design: Human colon cancer cell lines (DLD-1, LoVo, HCT15, and Colo205) and their mouse xenografts (DLD-1 and LoVo) were used in this study. The expression of phosphorylated Akt (Ser 473 ) and apoptosis in cancer cells were determined by immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry. To evaluate the activity of caspase-3 in culturing cells, the caspase colorimetric assay was also performed. Results: LY294002 demonstrated a remarkable growth-inhibitory and apoptosis-inducing effect in these colon cancer cell lines, with decreased expression of phosphorylated Akt (Ser 473 ). However, there was a great discrepancy between the sensitivity for LY294002 and the level of expression of phosphorylated Akt. Although the LoVo and Colo205 cells exhibited high sensitivity to LY294002 with increased apoptosis, the DLD-1 and HCT15 cells did not show rapid induction of apoptosis. The caspase-3 activity was significantly high in the LoVo cells but not in the DLD-1 cells. In the experiments using mouse xenografts, we found that LY294002 administration in vivo also resulted in suppression of tumor growth and induction of apoptosis, especially in the LoVo tumors, and therefore showed remarkable effectiveness in the mouse peritonitis carcinomatosa model. Conclusions: PI3K-Akt/PKB plays an important role in colon cancer development and progression by helping to promote cell growth and allowing cells to escape apoptosis. These results propose the usefulness of LY294002 as an antitumoral agent for patients with colorectal cancer.