Nilotinib induces autophagy in hepatocellular carcinoma through AMPK activation

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common liver cancer and the third-leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Nilotinib is an orally available receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor approved for chronic myelogenous leukemia. This study investigated the effect of nilotinib on HCC. Nilotinib did not induce cellular apoptosis. Instead, staining with acridine orange and microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 revealed that nilotinib induced autophagy in a dose- and time-dependent manner in HCC cell lines, including PLC5, Huh-7, and Hep3B. Moreover, nilotinib up-regulated the phosphryaltion of AMP-activated kinase (AMPK) and protein phosphatase PP2A inactivation were detected after nilotinib treatment. Up-regulating PP2A activity suppressed nilotinib-induced AMPK phosphorylation and autophagy, suggesting that PP2A mediates the effect of nilotinib on AMPK phosphorylation and autophagy. Our data indicate that nilotinib-induced AMPK activation is mediated by PP2A, and AMPK activation and subsequent autophagy might be a major mechanism of action of nilotinib. Growth of PLC5 tumor xenografts in BALB/c nude mice was inhibited by daily oral treatment with nilotinib. Western blot analysis showed both increased phospho-AMPK expression and decreased PP2A activity in vivo. Together, our results reveal that nilotinib induces autophagy, but not apoptosis in HCC, and that the autophagy-inducing activity is associated with PP2A-regulated AMPK phosphorylation.