Pro-inflammatory Cytokine Interleukin-1 Beta (IL-1β) Strengthens the Inhibitory Effect of XAV939 (WNT/βcatenin Inhibitor) in Colon Cancer Cell Line CACO2

Recent studies on BEZ235 (PI3K/AKT inhibitor) and XAV939 (WNT/βcatenin inhibitor) have shown promising results in colon cancer treatment. Many studies have suggested the effect of BEZ235 and XAV939 on colon cancer cells in combination with an environmental cytokine such as IL-1β, by analyzing the anti-proliferative effects of tumor cells and cell death. This study aims to the effect of pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) around the tumor on these two drugs and also the response of colon tumor cells to new therapeutic methods.  

In this experimental study, cancer cells were treated with IL-1β, BEZ235 and XAV939 alone and in combination together. The percentage of cell survival was evaluated by using MTT method. Flow cytometry was used to detect cell death. All cultures were performed in triplicate. All statistical analysis were performed using GraphPad Prism 6 software.  

The results of this study showed that BEZ235 significantly reduced the proliferation of the large intestine tumor cells, while XAV939 treatment increased the cell death up to 22.5 percent after 72h (p<0.05). The pro-inflammatory IL-1β significantly increased the sensitivity of the cancer cells to the XAV939 (31%, p<0.05).

Based on the findings of this study it seems that the presence of the pro-inflammatory IL-1β improves the inhibitory effect of XAV939 on cancer cells, but it has no significant effect on the inhibitory effect of BEZ235.