Rapamycin synergizes with low-dose oxaliplatin in the HCT116 colon cancer cell line by inducing enhanced apoptosis.

The present study aimed to examine the combined effects of oxaliplatin (L-OHP) and rapamycin (RAPA) in the HCT116 colon cancer cell line. The growth inhibitory effect was evaluated by MTT assay as a monotherapy or combination therapy. IC(50) values were determined using CalcuSyn 2.0 software. To determine the interaction of the drugs, the combination index (CI) was calculated using the Chou-Talalay method. Apoptosis was investigated using flow cytometry and Western blotting. Acridine orange staining was employed to observe morphological changes. The results showed the IC(50) values of L-OHP and RAPA to be 8.35±0.78 μM (r=0.99) and 223.44±38.10 nM (r=0.94), respectively. CI was ≤1 when L-OHP was used at doses ranging from 1 to 5 μM plus RAPA at a dose of 10 nM, suggesting synergistic or additive effects. CI was ≥1 when 100 nM RAPA was used in combination with low-dose L-OHP, showing additive to antagonistic effects. The combination of L-OHP (1 μM) and RAPA (10 nM) induced 19.76% Annexin V-positive cells, which was found to be higher than L-OHP (11.45%, p<0.01) or RAPA (6.89%, p<0.01) alone. The cleaved PARP protein expression levels were highest after 48 h of combination treatment. Acridine orange staining showed typical bright red Acidic vesicular organelles in the RAPA group, whereas the green condensed chromatin in the apoptotic bodies was found in both the L-OHP and combination groups. In conclusion, at a cytostatic concentration, RAPA was found to potentiate the anti-tumor effects of low-dose L-OHP in the HCT116 colon cancer cell by inducing enhanced apoptosis.