Vinblastine plus NVP-BEZ235inducing apoptosis of human renal tumor cells

Objective To study the activity of Vinblastine (VLB) plus NVP-BEZ235 in inducing the apoptosis of human renal carcinoma cells and underlying mechanisms.Methods Human renal carcinoma Caki cells were separately treated with VLB, NVP-BEZ235 and VLB+NVP-BEZ235 for 24 h, and apoptosis was determined by Annexin V staining, the expression levels of Caspase-3 and Mcl-1 proteins were detected by Western blotting and those of Mcl-1 mRNA by RT-PCR.Results VLB or NVP-BEZ235 alone did not induce apparent apoptosis of Caki cells, while the treatment of VLB+NVP-BEZ235 significantly enhanced apoptosis rate to about 60% in a concentration-dependent manner. The apoptosis-inducing activity of VLB+NVP-BEZ235 was correlated with the up-regulation of Caspase-3 and down-regulation of Mcl-1.Conclusions The combination of VLB and NVP-BEZ235 can induce apoptosis of human renal cell carcinoma cells, which is related to the up-regulation of Caspase-3 and down-regulation of Mcl-1.