Combination therapy Eve and Pac to induce apoptosis in cervical cancer cells by targeting PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathways

This study aimed to investigate the anti-cervical cancer effects of everolimus (Eve) and paclitaxel (Pac) when used alone or in combination. Human cervical cancer cells HeLa and SiHa were divided into four group: Blank control group (control), everolimus group (Eve), paclitaxel group (Pac) and combined therapy group (Eve + Pac). The cell viability was detected by CCK-8 assay and the cell cloning ability was detected by clonegenic assay. Flow cytometry was used to detect cell apoptosis. Meanwhile, the expression of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), protein kinase B (AKT), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and their phosphorylated proteins were studied by western blot. The HeLa and SiHa cells proliferation and cloning ability were significantly inhibited in drug treatment groups compared with control group (p < .05), and the Eve + Pac combinatorial therapy showed the better results than single treatment with Eve or Pac. Combination of Eve and Pac has synergistic effect on the induction of apoptosis in cervical cancer cells. In addition, the protein ratios in HeLa and SiHa cell treated with the Eve + Pac combination were significantly lower than that of cervical cancer cells treated with either Eve or Pac cell alone. Our study suggested that Eve + Pac provide a novel therapeutic strategy for cervical cancer.