Acquired resistance to temsirolimus in human renal cell carcinoma cells is mediated by the constitutive activation of signal transduction pathways through mTORC2

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to characterise the mechanism underlying acquired resistance to temsirolimus, an inhibitor of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). METHODS: A parental human RCC cell line, ACHN (ACHN/P), was continuously exposed to increasing doses of up to 20 μM of temsirolimus, and a cell line resistant to temsirolimus (ACHN/R), showing a sixfold higher IC(50) than that of ACHN/P, was developed. RESULTS: Following treatment with temsirolimus, phosphorylation of S6 kinase in ACHN/P was markedly inhibited, whereas there was no detectable expression of phosphorylated S6 in ACHN/R before and after temsirolimus treatment. However, AKT and p44/42 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) were constitutively phosphorylated even after temsirolimus treatment in ACHN/R, but not in ACHN/P. There was no significant difference between the sensitivities of ACHN/P and ACHN/R to KU0063794, a dual inhibitor of mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) and mTORC2. Similar sensitivities to temsirolimus in ACHN/P and ACHN/R could be achieved by additional treatment with specific inhibitors of AKT- and MAPK-signaling pathways. CONCLUSION: The activation of signal transduction pathways via mTORC2, but not via mTORC1, may have an important role in the acquisition of a resistant phenotype to temsirolimus in RCC.