A combination of telomerase inhibition and NK cell therapy increased breast cancer cell line apoptosis

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a subtype of breast tumor with the highest breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs) content and resistance to conventional treatment. Due to the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and immunogenicity of breast cancer cells, the use of immune cells, especially natural killer cells (NK) in the treatment of solid tumors, including breast cancer, has been unsatisfactory. Therefore, identifying novel therapies is requisite for breast cancer treatment. Furthermore, the combination of cancer therapies is an effective strategy to improve therapeutic effectiveness. In this study, we inhibited telomerase (hTERT) with BIBR1532, in stimulating NK cell cytotoxicity against breast cancer cells. The MDA-MB-231 cell line was cured with IC50 level of BIBR1532 for 24 h. Afterward, cells were washed with PBS and were co-cultured with peripheral blood NK cell for 5h. Finally, we assessed the impact of telomerase inhibition on the cytotoxicity of NK cells and apoptosis of breast cancer. Also, the expression of hTERT and apoptotic-related genes were evaluated. The data revealed that inhibition of telomerase increases NK cell cytotoxicity against breast cancer. Furthermore, telomerase inhibition and NK cell synergistically enhanced cell death in breast cancer cells by suppressing hTERT, upregulation of bax, and bad expression. In conclusion, telomerase suppression makes breast cancer cells more sensitive to NK cell therapy. Consequently, the combination of telomerase inhibition and NK cells can be useful in the treatment of breast cancer cells.

 

Comments：

In this study, telomerase was inhibited with BIBR1532 in order to stimulate NK cell cytotoxicity against breast cancer cells and the results showed that the combination of telomerase inhibition and NK cells can be useful in the treatment of breast cancer.

Related Products

Cat.No.	Product Name	Information
S1186	BIBR 1532	BIBR 1532 is a potent, selective, non-competitive telomerase inhibitor with IC50 of 100 nM in a cell-free assay. No inhibition of DNA and RNA polymerases, including HIV reverse transcriptase are observed at concentrations vastly exceeding the IC50 for telomerase. BIBR 1532 induces apoptosis in cancer cells.

Related Targets

Apoptosis related Telomerase