Niclosamide inhibition of STAT3 synergizes with erlotinib in human colon cancer

• Main Authors: Shi L, Zheng H, Hu W, Zhou B, Dai X, Zhang Y, Liu Z, Wu X, Zhao C, Liang G
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dove Medical Press 2017-03-01
• Series: OncoTargets and Therapy
• Subjects: STAT3; EGFR; Erlotinib; Niclosamide; Colon cancer
• Online Access: https://www.dovepress.com/niclosamide-inhibition-of-stat3-synergizes-with-erlotinib-in-human-col-peer-reviewed-article-OTT
• ISSN: 1178-6930

Lingyi Shi,1,* Hailun Zheng,1,* Wanle Hu,2 Bin Zhou,2 Xuanxuan Dai,3 Yi Zhang,3 Zhiguo Liu,1 Xiaoping Wu,1 Chengguang Zhao,1 Guang Liang1 1Chemical Biology Research Center, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2Department of Coloproctology, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital, 3Department of Oncological Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: Niclosamide, an anthelmintic drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration against cestodes, is used to treat tapeworm infection. In this study, we show that niclosamide can potentially inhibit signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) in colon cancer cell lines. Combined inhibition of epidermal growth factor receptor and STAT3 by erlotinib and niclosamide synergistically induces apoptosis and antiproliferation in colon cancer cell lines. Our findings suggest that erlotinib and niclosamide combination provides an effective therapeutic approach to improving the prognosis of colon cancer. Keywords: STAT3, EGFR, erlotinib, niclosamide, colon cancer