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Chemotherapy is the primary treatment for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, related dose-dependent toxicity limits its clinical use. Therefore, it is necessary to explore new strategies for improving the clinical outcomes while reducing the side effects of chemotherapy in the treatment of NSCLC. In this study, we designed and synthesized epidermal growth factor (EGF)-modified doxorubicin nanoparticles (EGF@DOX-NPs) that selectively targets the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) overexpressed in lung tumor cells. When administered in combination with low-dose X-ray radiotherapy (RT), the NPs preferentially accumulated at the tumor site due to radiation-induced outburst of the local intra-tumoral blood vessels. Compared with DOX alone, EGF@DOX-NPs significantly decreased the viability and migration and enhanced the apoptosis rates of tumor cells in vitro. Also, the EGF@DOX-NPs significantly inhibited tumor growth in vivo, increasing the survival of the tumor-bearing mice without apparent systemic toxic effects through RT-induced aggregation. The tumor cell proliferation was greatly inhibited in the RT + EGF@DOX-NPs group. Contrarily, the apoptosis of tumor cells was significantly higher in this group. These results confirm the promising clinical application of radiotherapy in combination with EGF@DOX-NPs for lung cancer treatment.

The role of c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs) in the pathogenesis of cancer is well-known due to their involvement in carcinogenesis. Although previous studies have discussed different functions of JNKs depending on cell type, the present study aimed to investigate the function of JNKs in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cells, as well as their involvement in chemotherapy sensitivity to Adriamycin. The present results showed that Adriamycin administration reduced cell viability and led to elevated expressions of c-Jun, phosphorylated JNK and phosphorylated c-Jun, indicating an activated JNK pathway. Notably, JNK inhibition by SP600125 also reduced cell growth. Thus, Adriamycin treatment combined with SP600125 was more effective on cell growth inhibition than each agent alone. The apoptosis analysis confirmed the reduction in cell growth. Therefore, these data provide evidence that the JNK pathway activity is negatively associated with cell viability, and its decline could sensitize NPC cells to Adriamycin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]