Icotinib hydrochloride enhances chemo- and radiosensitivity by inhibiting EGFR signaling and attenuating RAD51 expression and function in Hela S3 cells.

Background: Radiotherapy and cisplatin-based chemotherapy are currently considered as standard treatments employed for advanced cervical cancer (CC). However, patients with local recurrence or distant metastasis continue to have poor outcomes. EGFR overexpression correlated with chemo/radioresistance, and disease failure has been well proved in the previous studies. Hence, the aim of this study was to explore the therapeutic efficacy and underlying mechanism of the sensitization to radiation or cisplatin of icotinib hydrochloride (IH), a high-selective EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), in the Hela S3 human CC cell line.

Methods: Cell proliferation was measured with cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. Flow cytometry analysis was performed to examine cell cycle distribution and apoptosis. The phosphorylation of EGFR and its downstream signaling molecules were measured by Western blot analysis. γ-H2AX foci and RAD51 foci in the cellular nucleus were visualized using immunofluoresence staining. Expression levels of RAD51 in the whole cells and subceullar fractions were detected to demonstrate the impact of IH on DNA repair.

Results: IH can significantly inhibit cell proliferation, redistribute cell cycle, enhance apoptosis and impair DNA damage response of Hela S3 cells following radiation or cisplatin treatment through suppressing the activation of the EGFR signaling pathway and attenuating the expression and function of homologous recombination (HR) protein RAD51.

Conclusion: This study suggests that IH is a potential sensitizer in radiotherapy and cisplatin-based chemotherapy for CC and RAD51 may serve as a prognosis biomarker for this combination treatment.