Title:Sinularin Exerts Anti-cancer Effects by Inducing Oxidative Stress-mediated Ferroptosis,
Apoptosis, and Autophagy in Prostate Cancer Cells
Volume: 23
Issue: 12
Author(s): ZhengPing Wu, MengQiao Su, HanWu Chen, XuZhou Chen, Chung-Yi Chen, LiJie An, ZiChen Shao, XiaoYu Liu, Yi Lin, Ai-Jun OuYang and Chi-Ming Liu*
Affiliation:
- School of Medicine, Yichun University, 576 XueFu Road, Yuanzhou District, Yichun, 336000, Jiangxi Province, China
Keywords:
Sinularin, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), apoptosis, autophagy, ferroptosis, prostate cancer.
Abstract:
Introduction: Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death in men. Sinularin is a soft coralsderived
natural compound that has anticancer activity in many cancer cells. However, the pharmacological action of
sinularin in prostate cancer is unclear.
Aim: The aim of the study is to examine the anticancer effects of sinularin in prostate cancer cells.
Methods: We explored the anticancer effects of sinularin on the prostate cancer cell lines, PC3, DU145, and LNCaP,
by MTT, Transwell assay, wound healing, flow cytometry, and western blotting.
Results: Sinularin inhibited the cell viability and colony formation of these cancer cells. Furthermore, sinularin inhibited
testosterone-induced cell growth in LNCaP cells by downregulating the protein expression levels of androgen receptor
(AR), type Ⅱ 5α-reductase, and prostate-specific antigen (PSA). Sinularin significantly attenuated the invasion and
migration ability of PC3 and DU145 cells, with or without TGF-β1 treatment. Sinularin inhibited epithelialmesenchymal
transition (EMT) in DU145 cells after 48 h of treatment by regulating the protein expression levels of Ecadherin,
N-cadherin, and vimentin. Sinularin induced apoptosis, autophagy, and ferroptosis by regulating the protein
expression levels of Beclin-1, LC3B, NRF2, GPX4, PARP, caspase-3, caspase-7, caspase-9, cleaved-PARP, Bcl-2, and
Bax. Moreover, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) were increased but glutathione was decreased after sinularin
treatment in PC3, DU145 and LNCaP cells.
Conclusion: Sinularin regulated the androgen receptor signaling pathway and triggered apoptosis, autophagy, and
ferroptosis in prostate cancer cells. In conclusion, the results indicated that sinularin may be a candidate agent for human
prostate cancer and need further study for being applied to human.