The concept to fight against tumour resistance is to use chemosensitizers that selectively sensitize tumour cells to chemotherapeutic drugs without affecting normal tissue. In this study, the chemosensitizing potential of a novel benzoxazine derivative in combination with Doxorubicin, a DNA damaging chemotherapeutic drug was evaluated. The results of this study showed that the compound LTUR6 is a potent chemosensitizer of Doxorubicin in colon cancer cell lines, HCT116 and HT29. It was also observed that LTUR6 delayed the resolution of Doxorubicin-induced γH2AX, a specific marker of unrepaired DNA DSB, and prolonged cell cycle arrest in both cell lines. This eventually led to DNA fragmentation, caspase activation and ultimately apoptosis in LTUR6 treated cell lines. Results of western blot analysis revealed that LTUR6 significantly inhibited the phosphorylation of DSB repair enzyme AKT, in response to Doxorubicin-induced DSB. We propose that the chemosensitization observed following inhibition of PI3K is likely due to the involvement of a number of downstream targets of AKT.
Keywords: Apoptosis; Chemosensitizing; Colon cancer; Doxorubicin; PI3K-AKT.