Results
Title

Flubendazole Enhances the Inhibitory Effect of Paclitaxel via HIF1α/PI3K/AKT Signaling Pathways in Breast Cancer.

Authors

Zhou, Yuxin; Liao, Minru; Li, Zixiang; Ye, Jing; Wu, Lifeng; Mou, Yi; Fu, Leilei; Zhen, Yongqi

Abstract

Paclitaxel, a natural anticancer drug, is widely recognized and extensively utilized in the treatment of breast cancer (BC). However, it may lead to certain side effects or drug resistance. Fortunately, combination therapy with another anti-tumor agent has been explored as an option to improve the efficacy of paclitaxel in the treatment of BC. Herein, we first evaluated the synergistic effects of paclitaxel and flubendazole through combination index (CI) calculations. Secondly, flubendazole was demonstrated to synergize paclitaxel-mediated BC cell killing in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, we discovered that flubendazole could reverse the drug resistance of paclitaxel-resistant BC cells. Mechanistically, flubendazole was demonstrated to enhance the inhibitory effect of paclitaxel via HIF1α/PI3K/AKT signaling pathways. Collectively, our findings demonstrate the effectiveness of flubendazole in combination with paclitaxel for treating BC, providing an insight into exploiting more novel combination therapies for BC in the future.

Subjects

PACLITAXEL; CELLULAR signal transduction; BREAST cancer; ANTINEOPLASTIC agents; DRUG resistance

Publication

International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2023, Vol 24, Issue 20, p15121

ISSN

1661-6596

Publication type

Academic Journal

DOI

10.3390/ijms242015121