Inhibition of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase causes apoptosis in retinoic acid-differentiated HL-60 leukemia cells

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K) signaling may inhibit apoptosis in neoplastic cells. The PI-3K inhibitor wortmannin renders cells apoptosis-prone. Inducers of differentiation may also cause apoptosis. To detect the effect of wortmannin on the survival of differentiated human acute promyeloid leukemia cells, HL-60 cells were induced to differentiation with treatment of all trans-retinoic acid ( ATRA) followed by treatment with wortmannin. Results showed that apoptosis occurred in cells that underwent differentiation, but not in undifferentiated HL-60 cells. The pro-apoptotic molecule, Bad, played a role in this apoptotic mechanism. Thus, the survival of differentiated HL-60 cells induced by ATRA depends on the ability of the PI3-K pathway to transduce survival signals; the PI3-K inhibitor, wortmannin, can induce apoptosis of differentiated HL-60 cells. These results may indicate a novel method for treating cancer with differentiation induction and signal pathway regulation.