Trifluridine, a key component of
trifluridine/tipiracil, is a potential anti-
cancer drug that can act effectively on refractory metastatic
colorectal cancer.
Chemotherapy is important for
cancer treatment, but its adverse effects limit its use. Long-term side-effects caused by the
drug used during
chemotherapy are closely related to the accumulation of cellular senescence. However, the relationship between
trifluridine and normal cell aging remains unclear. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether
trifluridine can induce the senescence of human umbilical vein endothelial cells and to explore the possible mechanism. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells were treated with
trifluridine, senescence levels were measured via senescence-related acidic β-
galactosidase staining and senescence-associated secretory phenotype levels respectively. Autophagy was assessed by the
protein levels of LC3II/LC3I and p62, and LC3 fusion was detected by fluorescence microscopy.
Chloroquine diphosphate salt and
rapamycin were used to detect the effect of
trifluridine on autophagy flux and mTOR signaling pathway.
Trifluridine increased the expression of senescence-associated acidic β-
galactosidase and senescence-related secretory phenotype
mRNA levels in cells. In addition, also
trifluridine induced cellular senescence by inhibiting autophagy and was closely related to the activation of the mTOR signaling pathway, therefore, we believe that
trifluridine may be an effective mTOR activator. The findings also provide a new strategy for establishing autophagy or aging models, as well as a new theoretical basis for the use of
trifluridine in clinical treatment.