Volume 40, Issue 4 pp. 304-310

Angiotensin II suppresses adriamycin-induced apoptosis through activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt signaling in human breast cancer cells

Yanbin Zhao

Yanbin Zhao

Department of Medical Oncology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150040, China

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Xuesong Chen

Xuesong Chen

Department of Medical Oncology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150040, China

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Li Cai

Li Cai

Department of Medical Oncology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150040, China

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Yanmei Yang

Yanmei Yang

Cancer Research Institute of Heilongjiang Province, Harbin 150040, China

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Guangjie Sui

Corresponding Author

Guangjie Sui

Department of Medical Oncology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150040, China

*Corresponding authors: Jin Wu: Tel, 86-451-86298730; E-mail, [email protected] Guangjie Sui: Tel, 86-451-86298279; E-mail, [email protected]Search for more papers by this author
Jin Wu

Corresponding Author

Jin Wu

Department of Medical Oncology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150040, China

*Corresponding authors: Jin Wu: Tel, 86-451-86298730; E-mail, [email protected] Guangjie Sui: Tel, 86-451-86298279; E-mail, [email protected]Search for more papers by this author
First published: 21 April 2008
Citations: 3

Abstract

Angiotensin II (Ang II) stimulates tumor growth and angio-genesis in some solid cancer cells, but its anti-apoptosis role in breast cancer remains unclear. To address this issue, we investigated the effect of Ang II on adriamycin-induced apoptosis in breast cancer MCF-7 cells. Treatment of human breast cancer MCF-7 cells with adriamycin, a DNA topoisomerase IIα inhibitor, caused apoptosis. However, cells pretreated with Ang II were resistant to this apoptosis. Ang II significantly reduced the ratio of apoptotic cells and stimulation of phospho-Akt-Thr308 and phospho-Akt-Ser473 in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner. In addition, Ang II significantly prevented apoptosis through inhibiting the cleavage of procaspase-9, a major downstream effector of Akt. TheAng II type 1 receptor (AT1R) was responsible for these effects. Among the signaling molecules downstream of AT1R, we revealed that the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt pathway plays a predominant role in the anti-apoptotic effect of Ang II. Our data indicated that Ang n plays a critical anti-apoptotic role in breast cancer cells by a mechanism involving AT1R/phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt activation and the subsequent suppression of caspase-9 activation.

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