Sphingosine kinase 1 is a potential therapeutic target for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Sphingosine kinase 1 (SPHK1) has been shown to be involved in the progression of various types of human cancers. We previously demonstrated that SPHK1 is overexpressed and associated with clinical stage, locoregional recurrence, distant metastasis and poor prognosis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). However, the biological roles involving SPHK1 and its potential usefulness as a therapeutic target in NPC remain unknown. In this study, Blocking SPHK1 using siRNA or FTY720 (a SPHK1 inhibitor) significantly reduced proliferation and migration and increased cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in NPC cells. FTY720 also decreased SPHK1 activity, and overexpressing SPHK1 abrogated the FTY720-induced effects on cell viability. In addition, FTY720 sensitized NPC cells to radiotherapy by inhibiting SPHK1 activity in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, high SPHK1 expression was associated with increased Ki-67 and p-Akt and decreased caspase-3 expression in human NPC specimens. These data suggest that SPHK1 might be a potential therapeutic target for NPC.