Evaluation of the Antitumor Activity of Omipalisib, a PI3K/AKT/MTOR Pathway Inhibitor, on Burkitt Lymphoma Cell Line

There are many challenges in the treatment of Burkitt lymphoma, especially in immunocompromised individuals, elderly patients, and patients with relapsed or refractory disease. Therefore, there is a need for new and less toxic therapeutic agents. The aim of this study was to determine the antitumoral activity of omipalisib, a PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway inhibitor, in the Burkitt lymphoma. Raji cell line was used in the study. Omipalisib was administered to the cell line and then the cytotoxic effect of omipalisib on Raji cells was evaluated by the XTT test. The IC50 value was calculated according to the results of the XTT test. Apoptosis and cell cycle experiments were studied with the calculated IC50 value. The flow cytometric method was used to determine the effect of omipalisib on apoptosis and cell death. The results of the study showed a statistically significant cytotoxic effect of increasing concentrations of omipalisib on Raji cells. The apoptosis experiment performed revealed that omipalisib strongly induced apoptosis. The cell cycle experiment showed that omipalisib stimulated the cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase. It was concluded that omipalisib exhibited antitumoral activity on Burkitt lymphoma cells with its cytotoxic effect and induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. Considering this effect, targeting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway with omipalisib can be a new treatment option.