AK-968 efficiently inhibits proliferation and induces cell apoptosis in human multiple myeloma cells.

AK-968 is a small molecular weight compound. In this study, we evaluated its anti-tumor effects on human multiple myeloma (MM) cells. Our results demonstrated that AK-968 markedly inhibited proliferation of MM cell lines in a dose-and time-dependent manner. Additionally, our flow cytometry data showed that MM cell apoptosis was significantly induced by AK-968. As expected, caspase-3 cleavage and alternation of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) in the MM cells treated by AK-968 was detected or quantified by Western Blot or Flow cytometry technique, respectively. In conclusion, our results suggested that AK-968 may act as a potential drug to treat human multiple myeloma.