| Aim: The research studied the effect of Thymosin α1(Tα1),5-FU alone or Tα1 in combination with 5-FU on the proliferation and apoptosis in colon cancer SW480 cells and explored the role of the PTEN-PI3K/AKT/m TOR signaling pathway in it.Methods: The SW480 cells were treated with different concentrations of Tα1 and 5-FU for 12 h,24h and 48 h respectively.The cell viability was detected by MTT assay,the cell proliferation was detected by cell counting and colony formation assay,the cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry.The SW480 cells were divided into 4 groups,including Control group,Tα1 group,5-FU group,Tα1+5-FU group.The m RNA and protein levels of PTEN were detected by q RT-PCR and western blot.The cell proliferation and apoptosis were detected by colony formation assay and flow cytometry.The lentiviral transfection was used to knockdown or overexpress PTEN in SW480 cells,then the role of PTEN in anti-tumor ability of Tα1 was explored.The m RNA and protein levels of PTEN were detected by q RT-PCR and western blot.The m RNA and protein levels of PTEN were detected by q RT-PCR and western blot.The cell proliferation was detected by colony formation assay and Edu staining,the cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry.The relative proteins of AKT/m TOR signaling pathway were detected by western blot.Results: Both Tα1 and 5-FU significantly inhibited the cell proliferation and induced the cell apoptosis of SW480 cells,which effects are dose and time dependent.The proliferation inhibition and apoptosis induction were significantly higher in Tα1+5-FU group than Tα1 or 5-FU group respectively.The Tα1+5-FU group significantly up-regulated the expression of PTEN.Besides,the over-expression of PTEN enhanced the proliferation inhibition and apoptosis induction induced by Tα1.Otherwise,the knockdown of PTEN suppressed the proliferation inhibition and apoptosis induction induced by Tα1.Tα1 exerted anti-tumor effect through PTEN-mediated inhibition of PI3K/Akt/m TOR signaling pathway.Conclusion: 1)Tα1 can significantly inhibit cell proliferation and induce apoptosis in colon cancer cells.2)The PTEN-PI3K/AKT/m TOR signaling pathway can regulate the anti-tumor effects of Tα1.3)Tα1 combined with 5-FU have the anti-tumor synergistic effect by up-regulating the expression of PTEN. |
