Original ArticleDual blocking of PI3K and mTOR signaling by NVP-BEZ235 inhibits proliferation in cervical carcinoma cells and enhances therapeutic response

•PI3K/mTOR signaling is upregulated in cervical carcinoma.•Provide a basis for developing new chemotherapies that target PI3K/mTOR signaling pathway on cervical carcinoma.•NVP-BEZ235, has dramatic potential as a cervical carcinoma therapy.•NVP-BEZ235 sensitized cervical carcinoma cells to the antitumor effects of platinum compounds.

NVP-BEZ235 is a novel dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor that shows dramatic effects on many tumors, but its effects on cervical carcinoma cells are largely unknown. In the present study, we investigated the effects of NVP-BEZ235 on the proliferation and invasion of cervical carcinoma cells in vitro and clarified its mechanism of action. In cellular settings with human cervical carcinoma cell lines, this molecule effectively and specifically blocked dysfunctional PI3K/mTOR pathway activation, suppressed cell growth in a time- and concentration-dependent manner, led to G1 cell cycle arrest, and induced apoptosis. NVP-BEZ235 suppressed HeLa cell invasiveness and metastasis by inhibiting the PI3K/Akt/MMP-2 pathway. We further demonstrated that NVP-BEZ235 treatment in combination with cisplatin or carboplatin induced a synergistic anti-tumoral response in cervical carcinoma cells. These findings suggested that NVP-BEZ235 could regulate growth and invasion of cervical carcinoma cells; thus it may provide a potential therapy for cervical carcinoma.