ABSTRACT
Objective To study the expression of nicotinamide phosphoribosyl transferase (Nampt) in breast cancer and to investigate the effects of Nampt inhibitor on the growth and chemotherapy sensitivity of breast cancer cells.Methods Nampt mRNA expression in breast cancer tissues and adjacent normal tissues was detected by qRT-PCR method.The effect of Nampt inhibitor on the growth of breast cancer cells and chemotherapy sensitization was detected by MTT and soft agar clonogenic assays.Results Nampt in breast cancer was significantly higher than that in normal breast tissue (P=0.000).Nampt inhibitor FK866 repressed breast cancer cell proliferation (24 h,P=0.003;48 h,P=0.001) and suppressed cell anchorage-independent growth (0.3 nM vs 0 nM,P=0.02;3 nM vs 0.3 nM,P=0.0143;0 nM vs 3 nM,P=0.02).FK866 also increased the chemo-sensitivity of breast cancer cells to fluorouracil by greater inhibition of cell proliferation.Conclusion Our findings indicate that Nampt may be a new therapeutic target for breast cancer.