Abstract
The resistance of colorectal cancer (CRC) to chemotherapy, e.g., 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), is an impediment to successful cancer treatment. Although many mechanisms have been proposed to explain the occurrence of resistance, little is known concerning the role of the adipocyte-containing microenvironment of CRC. Accumulating data have proposed that the combined therapy of clinical drugs with ginger derivatives, e.g., 6-shogaol, might improve resistance development. In the present study, we examined the effect of adipocyte-conditioned medium (ACM) on 5-FU-treated CRC cells (human DLD-1 and SW480 cells) and further examined the possible antagonized role of 6-shogaol in this situation. It was shown that the level of sterol-regulatory element-binding protein-1 (SREBP-1), a critical transcription factor involved in lipid synthesis and metabolism, would be upregulated through Akt and p70S6K signaling pathways while CRC cells are cultured in ACM, which subsequently decreases the cell sensitivity to 5-FU cytotoxicity. Moreover, our results also demonstrated the antagonized role of 6-shogaol in attenuating the ACM effects on CRC cells through activating AMPK signaling. Overall, the present study elucidated the role of adipocyte-containing microenvironment in 5-FU resistance development of CRC through controlling the SREBP-1 level and further enhanced the concept of clinical application of 6-shogaol and AMPK signaling in CRC therapy.