Synergistic effects of Akt1 shRNA and paclitaxel-incorporated conjugated linoleic acid-coupled poloxamer thermosensitive hydrogel on breast cancer.

The phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt1 signaling pathway has emerged as a target for cancer therapy. In this study, we aimed to develop a strategy to enhance Akt-targeted cancer therapy. We hypothesized that combination of Akt1-targeted therapy with conventional chemotherapy using paclitaxel-incorporated conjugated linoleic acid-coupled poloxamer thermosensitive hydrogel may have synergistic effects in cancer therapeutic efficiency compared with chemotherapy alone. In this study, we found that the combination of shAkt1 with paclitaxel exerted synergistic anti-cancer effects, thus, inhibiting the growth of human breast cancer cells, and breast cancer xenografts in mice as well. The combination therapy demonstrated enhanced anti-cancer effects through inhibiting Akt1 signaling and inducing apoptosis. Our results suggest that the presented strategy of combination of shAkt1 with paclitaxel may have a potential for treatment of breast cancer.