Celecoxib disrupts the canonical apoptotic network in HTLV-I cells through activation of Bax and inhibition of PKB/Akt.

Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) is an aggressive lymphoproliferative disease of very poor clinical prognosis associated with infection by the human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I). Treatment of patients with ATLL using conventional chemotherapy has limited benefit because HTLV-I cells are refractory to most apoptosis-inducing agents. In this study, we report that Celecoxib induces cell death via the intrinsic mitochondrial pathway in HTLV-I transformed leukemia cells. Treatment with Celecoxib was associated with activation of Bax, decreased expression of Mcl-1, loss of the mitochondrial membrane potential and caspase-9-dependent apoptosis. These effects were independent from Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL. We also found that Celecoxib inhibited the Akt/GSK3 beta survival pathway in HTLV-I cells.