ABSTRACT
Objective To study the radiosensitizing effect of 2'-hydroxyflavanone (2'-HF) on prostate cancer cells,and to preliminarily investigate its mechanism.Methods Colony formation assay,tert-butylhydroperoxide (TBHP) oxidative stress assay,Hoechst staining,and apoptosis flow cytometry using Annexin V-FITC and propidium iodide (PI) were performed to measure the impact of 2'-HF on the radiosensitivity of VCaP prostate cancer cells.Western blot was used to determine the effects of 2'-HF on expression of AKT,phosphorylated AKT (p-AKT),and aldo-keto reductase 1 C3 (AKR1 C3) in VCaP cells and preliminarily investigate the mechanism.Data were analyzed by t test and factorial analysis of variance.Results The results of colony formation assay indicated that after exposure to radiation,VCaP cells treated with 2'-HF had a significantly lower proliferation level than cells in the control group (P=0.010),yielding a sensitization enhancement ratio of 1.19.The resuhs of TBHP oxidative stress assay suggested that VCaP cells treated with 2'-HF had significantly weaker anti-oxidative capacity than cells in the control group (P=0.015).Hoechst staining and apoptosis flow cytometry with Annexin V-FITC and PI indicated that 2'-HF treatment plus irradiation significantly enhanced apoptosis in VCaP cells (P=0.001.The results of Western blot suggested that 2'-HF treatment significantly inhibited the protein expression of p-AKT and AKR1C3 in VCaP cells (P=0.013 and P=0.016).Conclusions 2'-HF can enhance the radiosensitivity of prostate cancer cells,which is probably associated with its inhibitory effects on AKT pathway and AKR1C3 expression in prostate cancer cells.