CF101, An Agonist to the A3 Adenosine Receptor, Enhances the Chemotherapeutic Effect of 5-Fluorouracil in a Colon Carcinoma Murine Model

NF-κB and the upstream kinase PKB/Akt are highly expressed in chemoresistance tumor cells and may hamper the apoptotic pathway. CF101, a specific agonist to the A3 adenosine receptor, inhibits the development of colon carcinoma growth in cell cultures and xenograft murine models. Because CF101 has been shown to downregulate PKB/Akt and NF-κB protein expression level, we presumed that its combination with chemotherapy will enhance the antitumor effect of the cytotoxic drug. In this study, we utilized 3-[4,5Dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) and colony formation assays and a colon carcinoma xenograft model. It has been shown that a combined treatment of CF101 and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) enhanced the cytotoxic effect of the latter on HCT-116 human colon carcinoma growth. Downregulation of PKB/Akt, NF-κB, and cyclin D1, and upregulation of caspase-3 protein expression level were observed in cells and tumor lesions on treatment with a combination of CF101 and 5-FU. Moreover, in mice treated with the combined therapy, myelotoxicity was prevented as was evidenced by normal white blood cell and neutrophil counts. These results show that CF101 potentiates the cytotoxic effect of 5-FU, thus preventing drug resistance. The myeloprotective effect of CF101 suggests its development as an add-on treatment to 5-FU.