Combination of temsirolimus with cisplatin as anti-cancer agents through inducing apoptosis and altering cell cycle distribution in Hela cell line

Abstract

Combination treatment is the most effective therapy strategy on cancer by dramatically reducing drug toxicity and enhancing efficacy. In this study, we assessed whether temsirolimus, an mTOR inhibitor enhanced anti-cancer effects of cisplatin on human cervical Hela cell line or not. The combination of temsirolimus and cisplatin, to a large extent, reduced proliferation rate of cervical Hela cells in comparision with single chemotherapeutics cisplatin in vitro and resulted in synergistic effects (CI<1). Flow cytometry results indicated that temsirolimus markedly increased cisplatin-induced apoptosis. Thus, the combination chemotherapy using cisplatin and temsirolimus could be a novel strategy for synergistic effects against human cervical cancer.