The andean anticancer herbal product BIRM causes destabilization of androgen receptor and induces caspase-8 mediated-apoptosis in prostate cancer.

BIRM is an anticancer herbal formulation from Ecuador. Previous study established its antitumor and antimetastatic activity against prostate cancer models. The activity of BIRM against human prostate cancer (PCa) cells was investigated to uncover its mechanism of antitumor activity. In androgen receptor (AR)-expressing PCa cells BIRM was 2.5-fold (250%) more cytotoxic in presence of androgen (DHT) compared to cells grown in the absence of DHT. In AR-positive cells (LAPC-4 and LNCaP) BIRM caused a dose and time-dependent down-regulation of AR and increased apoptosis. Exposing cells to BIRM did not affect the synthesis of AR and AR promoter activity but increased degradation of AR via proteasome-pathway. BIRM caused destabilization of HSP90-AR association in LAPC-4 cells. It induced apoptosis in PCa cells by activation of caspase-8 via death receptor and FADD-mediated pathways. A synthetic inhibitor of Caspase-8 cleavage (IETD-CHO) aborted BIRM-induced apoptosis. The effect of BIRM on AKT-mediated survival pathway in both AR+ and AR- negative (PC-3 and DU145) showed decreased levels of p-AKTser 473 in all PCa cell lines. BIRM dosed by oral gavage in mice bearing PC-3ML tumors showed selective efficacy on tumor growth; before tumors are established but limited efficacy when treated on existing tumors. Moreover, BIRM inhibited the LNCaP tumor generated by orthotropic implantation into dorsal prostate of nude mice. Partial purification of BIRM by liquid-liquid extraction and further fractionation by HPLC showed 4-fold increased specific activity on PCa cells. These results demonstrate a mechanistic basis of anti-tumor activity of the herbal extract BIRM.

Ericifolin: a novel antitumor compound from allspice that silences androgen receptor in prostate cancer.

Silencing of androgen receptor (AR) signaling is a specific and effective mechanism to cure cancer of the prostate (CaP). In this study, the isolation and characterization of a compound from the aromatic berries of Pimenta dioica (allspice) that silences AR is presented. Potential antitumor activities of an aqueous allspice extract (AAE) and a compound purified from the extract were tested on CaP cells. AAE inhibited tumor cell proliferation and colony formation (50% growth inhibition ∼40-85 µg/ml) but not the viability of quiescent normal fibroblasts or non-tumorigenic prostate cells. In tumor cells, AAE inhibited cell cycle progression at G1/S, induced apoptosis or autophagy. Apoptosis was by caspase-dependent poly (ADP ribose) polymerase cleavage. A caspase-independent, apoptosis-inducing factor-mediated mechanism of apoptosis caused cell death in castration-resistant AR-positive or AR-negative CaP cells, such as CWR22RV1, PC-3 or DU145 cells. Treatment with AAE decreased the levels of AR messenger RNA (mRNA), protein and silenced AR activity in AR-positive cells. AR depletion was due to inhibition of AR promoter activity and mRNA stability. Delayed tumor growth (~55%) without measurable systemic toxicity was observed in LNCaP tumor-bearing mice treated with AAE by oral or intraperitoneal routes. LNCaP tumor tissues from AAE-treated mice revealed increased apoptosis as a potential mechanism of antitumor activity of AAE. The chemical identity of bioactive compound in AAE was established through multistep high-performance liquid chromatography fractionation, mass and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopies. The compound, eugenol 5-O-ß-(6'-galloylglucopyranoside) or ericifolin (EF), showed antiproliferative, pro-apoptosis and anti-AR transcription activities. These results demonstrate a potential use of AAE and EF against prostate cancer.

CXC receptor-1 silencing inhibits androgen-independent prostate cancer.

The CXC receptor-1 (CXCR1) is a coreceptor for interleukin-8 (IL-8) and is expressed on both normal and tumor cells. The function of CXCR1 in prostate cancer was investigated by silencing its expression, using RNA interference. We established stable cell colonies of PC-3 cells, depleted of CXCR1, using lentiviral plasmids (pLK0.1puro) generating small hairpin RNA (shRNA) against CXCR1 mRNA. Stable shRNA transfectants (PLK1-PLK5) that express significantly reduced CXCR1 mRNA (>or=90% down) and protein (>or=43% down) or vector-only transfectants (PC-3V) were characterized. PLK cells showed reduced cell proliferation (down, >or=66%), due to cell cycle arrest at G(1)-S phase, decreases in Cyclin D1, CDK4, phosphorylated Rb, and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 levels compared with those in PC-3V cells. CXCR1 depletion lead to increases in spontaneous apoptosis by mitochondria-mediated intrinsic mechanism and increases in proapoptotic proteins (BAD, 40%; BAX, 12%), but decreases in antiapoptotic proteins (BCL2, down 38%; BCL(xL), 20%). PLK2 cells grew as slow-growing tumors (decrease of 54%), compared with that of PC3V tumors in athymic mice. Ex vivo analyses of PLK2 tumor tissues showed reduced expression of Cyclin D1 and vascular endothelial growth factor, and increased apoptosis activity. Other IL-8-expressing prostate cancer cell lines also exhibited similar phenotypes when CXCR1 was depleted by CXCR1 shRNA transfection. In contrast to these cells, CXCR1 depletion had little effect on IL-8 ligand-deficient LNCaP cells. RNA interference rescue using mutated CXCR1 plasmids reversed the silencing effect of PLK2, thus demonstrating the specificity of phenotypic alteration by CXCR1 shRNA. These studies establish that CXCR1 promotes IL-8-mediated tumor growth.