Cell experiment:

Established HCC cells (HepG2 and Huh-7), primary HCC cells (Pnt-1/-2/-3/-4), or THLE-2 liver cells are cultured in WAY-600 (1-1000 nM)-containing medium for 24, 48, 72, 96 hours, cell viability is tested by MTT assay[2].

Animal experiment:

Mice: Mice tumor xenografts are randomly divided into four groups (10 mice per group): vehicle ( intraperitoneal or i.p.), WAY-600 (10 mg/kg, i.p. injection), MEK-162 (2.5 mg/kg, oral gavage) or WAY-600 plus MEK-162 combination. The mice are monitored for activity and physical condition on daily basis, and mice body weights and tumor mass are measured weekly[2].

WAY-600 is a potent, ATP-competitive, and selective mTOR inhibitor with an IC50 of 9 nM for recombinant mTOR enzyme. WAY-600 blocks mTOR complex 1/2 (mTORC1/2) assemble and activation.

WAY-600 exhibits a concentration-dependent and time-dependent inhibition of f HepG2 and Huh-7 cells viability. Following WAY-600 (1-1000 nM) treatment, the number of HepG2 cell colonies is dramatically decreased. Meanwhile, BrdU incorporation in HepG2 cells is also inhibited with WAY-600 treatment. WAY-600 dose-dependently increases the activity of caspase-3 and caspase-9 in HepG2 cells. WAY-600 disrupts assemble of mTORC1 (mTOR-Raptor association) and mTORC2 (mTOR-Rictor association). Activation of mTORC1 (indicated by p-S6K1 and p-4E-BP1) and mTORC2 is almost blocked by WAY-600 (100 nM)[2].

Administration of WAY-600 (10 mg/kg, daily) inhibits HepG2 tumor growth in nude mice. Daily HepG2 tumor growth of WAY-600-administrated mice is significantly lower than that of vehicle control mice. Importantly, the in vivo anti-cancer activity by WAY-600 is further potentiated with the co-administration of MEK-162 (2.5 mg/kg, p.o. daily)[2].

References:
[1]. Yu K, et al. Biochemical, cellular, and in vivo activity of novel ATP-competitive and selective inhibitors of the mammalian target of rapamycin. Cancer Res. 2009 Aug 1;69(15):6232-40.
[2]. Wang K, et al. MEK-ERK inhibition potentiates WAY-600-induced anti-cancer efficiency in preclinical hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) models. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2016 May 27;474(2):330-7.