The PI3K/Akt pathway is an attractive therapeutic target in the treatment of
pancreatic cancer, as it was demonstrated to be aberrantly regulated in
pancreatic cancer cells. The present study aimed to investigate the therapeutic potential of the novel Akt inhibitor
MK-2206 in human
pancreatic cancer cell lines.
Pancreatic cancer cell survival following
MK-2206 treatment was assessed using the Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, colony formation and determination of the apoptotic rate by flow cytometry following
annexin-V-
fluorescein isothiocyanate/
propidium iodide staining. The effects of
MK-2206 alone or in combination with
gemcitabine on pancreatic cell proliferation were assessed using the
CCK-8 assay. Western blotting was used to examine the effects of the two drugs on Akt
protein expression. The results demonstrated that
MK-2206 inhibited the proliferation and induced apoptosis of the Mia PaCa-2 and Panc-1
pancreatic cancer cell lines. In addition,
CCK-8 cytotoxicity test showed that combined administration of
MK-2206 with
gemcitabine enhanced the cytotoxic efficacy of
gemcitabine. Furthermore, a low dose of
MK-2206 (1 µM) combined with
gemcitabine was enough to inhibit Akt phosphorylation. Taken together, these results provided some insight into the underlying mechanism of the anticancer effects of
MK-2206 on
pancreatic cancer cells.