Bcl-2 family proteins contribute to apoptotic resistance in lung cancer multicellular spheroids.

ABSTRACT: Combinatorial therapies using the proteasome inhibitor, bortezomib, have been found to induce synergistic apoptosis in cancer cells grown as monolayers; however, three-dimensional spheroid culture may be a better model for the multicellular resistance found in solid tumors, such as lung cancer. We tested the combinatorial apoptotic strategy of using bortezomib together with TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), both in monolayers and in spheroids of A549 lung cancer cells. Indeed, bortezomib plus TRAIL induced synergistic apoptosis in A549 cells grown as monolayers, but had little effect on A549 cells grown as three-dimensional multicellular spheroids. The acquired resistance of spheroids was not due to a limitation of diffusion, to survival pathways, such as NF-kappaB or PI3K/Akt

SUBMITTER: Yang TM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2701959 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature