Synergistic anticancer effects of arsenic trioxide with bortezomib in mantle cell lymphoma

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a subtype of B-cell Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL) and accounts for ~6% of all lymphomas. MCL is highly refractory to most chemotherapy including newer antibody-based therapeutic approaches, and high-grade MCL has one of the worst survival rates among NHLs. Therefore, the development of new therapeutic strategies to overcome drug resistance of MCL is important. In this article, we tested the effects of arsenic trioxide (As(2) O(3) , ATO) in bortezomib-resistant MCL. ATO is reported to induce complete remission in the patients with relapsed or refractory acute promyelocytic leukemia. Their effects in MCL, however, have not been explored. In this report, we show that ATO effectively inhibited the growth of MCL cells in vitro. ATO treatment also reduced cyclin D1 expression which is a genetic hallmark of MCL and NF-kB expression which was reported to have a prosurvival role in some MCL cells. The induction of apoptosis in MCL was partially due to reduced levels of cyclin D1 and increased levels of apoptosis-related molecules. The antiproliferative effects of bortezomib on MCL greatly increased when the cells were also treated with ATO, indicating ATO can sensitize MCL to bortezomib. Similar results were noted in bortezomib-resistant cell lines. In conclusion, ATO may be an alternative drug for use in combined adjuvant therapies for MCL, and further clinical testing should be performed.