Abnormal activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway has been demonstrated in certain types of cancer, including cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). This pathway may therefore be a promising target for CCA treatment. The present study assessed the inhibitory effect of NVP-BKM120, a pan-class I PI3K inhibitor, on CCA cell growth. This inhibitory effect was determined using CCA cell lines and in CCA-inoculated mice. The result from sulforhodamine B (SRB) assay demonstrated that NVP-BKM120 treatment inhibited CCA cell growth in a dose-dependent manner, even at the lowest tested concentration. The in vivo study revealed that oral administration of NVP-BKM120 (10 or 30 mg/kg) to CCA-inoculated nude mice led to a reduction in tumor growth when compared with controls, which was indicated by an immunohistochemical assay for Ki67 expression. In addition, the result from TUNEL assay demonstrated that NVP-BKM120 induced cancer cell death without any signs of toxicity, which indicated by the body weight of mice (data not shown). Western blot analysis demonstrated that NVP-BKM120 inhibited CCA cell growth by suppressing RAC serine/threonine protein kinase/mechanistic target of rapamycin activation and inhibiting the phosphorylation of phosphatase and tensin homolog, which is the inactivation form of the negative regulator of this pathway. Therefore, the results of the present study indicated that NVP-BKM120 should be considered as a therapeutic agent against CCA that could be used to improve treatment.
Keywords: NVP-BKM120; Opisthorchis viverrini; cholangiocarcinoma; phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase pathway.