Dasatinib promotes TRAIL‐mediated apoptosis by upregulating CHOP‐dependent death receptor 5 in gastric cancer

Dasatinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has been approved for first‐line treatment of leukemia and has also been evaluated for use in numerous other cancers. However, its role in gastric cancer (GC) remains unclear. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate how dasatinib suppresses the growth of GC cells and interacts with chemotherapeutic drugs. The results showed that, in the presence of dasatinib, proliferation of GC cells decreased and apoptosis increased, and that Fas‐associated death domain protein and caspase‐8 are essential to dasatinib‐induced cell apoptosis in GC. In addition, we found that dasatinib increased the expression of death receptor 5 (DR5) in GC cells. Dasatinib enhanced apoptosis induced by tumor necrosis factor‐related apoptosis‐inducing ligand (TRAIL) in GC cells. Moreover, increased DR5 expression facilitated dasatinib‐induced apoptosis; the dasatinib‐induced increase in DR5 expression was mediated by CCAAT/enhancer‐binding protein homologous protein (CHOP). Furthermore, dasatinib also synergized with TRAIL to induce apoptosis via DR5 in GC cells. Our results show that dasatinib promoted TRAIL‐mediated apoptosis via upregulation of CHOP‐dependent DR5 expression in GC, suggesting that DR5 induction can be used as an indicator of dasatinib sensitivity.