The Akt-mTOR signal is important for the survival and proliferation of cancer cells and has become an interesting drug target. In this study, five resveratrol derivatives were evaluated for anticancer activity and Akt/mTOR targeting activity in non-small lung cancer cell lines. The effects of resveratrol derivatives on cell proliferation were assessed by 2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, nucleus staining, and colony formation assay. Furthermore, the effect of resveratrol derivatives on proliferation-related protein expression was analyzed by immunofluorescence and Western blotting. For the structure–activity relationship (SAR), results reveal that two derivatives of resveratrol which are 4,4′-(ethane-1,2-diyl) bis(2-methoxyphenol) (RD2) and the 4-(3-hydroxy-4-methoxyphenethyl)-2-methoxyphenol (RD3) had very similar structures but exerted different cytotoxicity. The IC50 of RD2 and RD3 were 108.6 ± 10.82 and more than 200 µM in the A549 cell line and 103.5 ± 6.08 and more than 200 µM in H23 cells, respectively. RD2 inhibited cell proliferation and induced apoptosis when compared with the control, while RD3 caused minimal effects. Cells treated with RD2 exhibited apoptotic nuclei in a concomitant with the reduction of cellular p-Akt and p-mTOR. RD3 had minimal effects on such proteins. According to these results, molecular docking analysis revealed a high-affinity interaction between RD2 and an Akt molecule at the ATP-binding and the allosteric sites, indicating this RD2 as a potential Akt inhibitor. This study provides useful information of resveratrol derivatives RD2 for treating lung cancer via Akt/mTOR inhibition.
Akt-mTOR信号通路对于癌细胞的生存和增殖至关重要,已成为一种有趣的药物靶点。本研究评估了五种白藜芦醇衍生物在非小细胞肺癌细胞系中的抗癌活性和对Akt/mTOR靶向作用的影响。通过2,5-二苯基-2H-四唑溴化物(MTT)试验、核染色和集落形成试验评估了白藜芦醇衍生物对细胞增殖的影响。此外,通过免疫荧光和Western blotting分析白藜芦醇衍生物对增殖相关蛋白表达的影响。结果显示,白藜芦醇的两种衍生物RD2和RD3结构非常相似,但表现出不同的细胞毒性。在A549细胞系中,RD2和RD3的IC50分别为108.6±10.82和大于200 µM,在H23细胞中,RD2和RD3的IC50分别为103.5±6.08和大于200 µM。与对照组相比,RD2抑制了细胞增殖并诱导了凋亡,而RD3的影响很小。RD2处理的细胞伴随着细胞内p-Akt和p-mTOR的降低而出现凋亡核。而RD3对这些蛋白的影响很小。分子对接分析表明,RD2与Akt分子在ATP结合和变构位点上具有高亲和力的相互作用,表明RD2是一种潜在的Akt抑制剂。本研究为通过Akt/mTOR抑制剂治疗肺癌提供了有用的信息,特别是白藜芦醇衍生物RD2。