Latent Membrane Protein 1 Antibody Inhibited Cell Stemness Growth of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma by Regulating PI3K/AKT Signaling Pathway

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of LMP1-Fab antibody on Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cancer stem cells (CSCs). Methods/Results: LMP1 was identified to play an important role in maintaining the stemness characteristics of NPC by sphere formation, as is evidenced by CCK-8 and colony formation assays. Furthermore, CCK8 and TUNEL assays indicated that LMP1-Fab antibody could accelerate cell apoptosis while inhibiting cell proliferation in nasopharyngeal carcinoma stem cell. Notably, LMP1-Fab antibody inhibited NPC xenograft cancer growth in the nude mice. At the molecular level, LMP1-Fab antibody inhibited the phosphorylation of PI3K/AKT signaling pathway both in vitro and in vivo. More importantly, these effects were blocked by PI3K/AKT phosphorylation inhibitor LY294002. Conclusion: These results suggested that the novel antibody-targeting LMP1 is likely to be a promising strategy for the treatment of NPC.