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Research Project
Androgens/anti-androgens and glycaemia in reprogramming metabolism of prostate cancer: targeting both androgen receptor and metabolism as a therapeutic option
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Prostate cancer cells metabolism on the interplay of androgenic regulation and metabolic environment
Publication . Cardoso, Henrique José Matos Morão Mingote; Socorro, Sílvia Cristina da Cruz Marques; Madureira, Patrícia
Prostate Cancer (PCa) is one of the most common cancer in men and represents the fifth
leading cause of cancer deaths. In an initial phase of PCa, the so-called androgen-sensitive
stage, PCa cells are extremely dependent on androgens actions to survive and proliferate.
This condition allows the effectiveness of androgens deprivation therapy (ADT) that reduce
the circulating levels of androgens or block their action. The continuous administration of
ADT renders PCa cells resistant to treatment, becoming capable of survive and metastasize
even in the absence or very low circulating levels of androgens. At this moment, it is reached
the stage of castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), a condition with high mortality rates
and treatment limitations.
In the last years, a substantial amount of data showed that cancer cells have the
ability of reprogramming metabolism to survive and metastasize. Warburg studies were
pioneer showing that tumour cells predominantly use glycolysis for obtaining energy, in
detriment of oxidative phosphorylation, with the production of high amounts of lactate.
These findings opened the door to the metabolic adaptation being considered a hallmark of
cancer. Currently, it is accepted that mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and glycolysis,
support tumour cells survival and growth. Primary PCa cases differ from other cancer types by
the fact that is less glycolytic, and the idea that predominantly use fatty acids and glutamine
as energy substrates has been gaining consistency. Indeed, glycolysis is only overactivated in
more advanced stages of the disease, in CRPC. However, the understanding of how each
metabolic pathway sustains PCa cells survival and growth still is incomplete. Besides the
recognized functions as the main drivers of PCa survival and growth, androgens have been
indicated as metabolic regulators in PCa, modulating glycolysis and cell lipid handling.
Nevertheless, there are several issues in the role of androgens controlling PCa metabolism
that need to be clarified.
Although efforts have been made in recent years to develop new drugs for PCa
treatment, namely, for CRPC, they have shown limited duration of clinical and survival
benefits. Following the trend observed in other cancer types, treatment approaches targeting
metabolism also have been explored in the case of PCa and CRPC. However, there are
important knowledge gaps in the understanding of PCa cells metabolism that should be
fulfilled to improve its efficacy and to avoid resistance and bypassing metabolic pathways.
The main goal of this thesis was to clarify the role androgens and the metabolic
environment in shaping PCa metabolism, and how this interplay can affect PCa cell fate. The
present thesis first established the PCa cells dependency on the different metabolic pathways
(glycolysis, glutaminolysis and lipid metabolism). It was demonstrated that CRPC cells have
higher metabolic rates being more glycolytic than the androgen-sensitive cells, especially the
PC3 cells, which also showed a higher capacity to oxidize glutamine. Androgen-responsive LNCaP cells displayed a higher capacity for using fatty acids as mitochondrial fuels. These
findings allowed to demonstrate a differential dependency and capacity of fuel use between
androgen-sensitive and CRPC cells. Next, we determined the relevance of glutaminolysis for
PCa cells survival and growth and the effect of androgens in the regulation of glutamine
metabolism. Treatment of PCa cells with 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT, 10nM) potentiated
glutamine metabolism in PCa cells, whereas the inhibition of glutaminase activity diminished
cell viability and migration, and increased apoptosis, particularly in the CRPC. Moreover, cotreatment
with glutaminase inhibitor BPTES and the anti-androgen bicalutamide had a
synergic effect suppressing LNCaP cells viability, which highlights the benefit of co-targeting
androgen receptor and glutamine metabolism in PCa treatment. Glutaminolysis inhibition also
had an impact on glycolysis and lipid metabolism.
The role of androgens in regulating lipid metabolism and the influence of these
hormones and LDL-cholesterol modulating PCa cells fate were evaluated. DHT upregulated
the expression of fatty acid synthase and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A in androgensensitive
PCa cells. LDL-cholesterol enrichment increased PCa cells viability, proliferation,
and migration dependently on DHT. This in vitro approach supports clinical and
epidemiological data linking obesity and cholesterol with PCa, and first implicated androgens
in this relationship.
Finally, we investigated the effect of different glucose availability on the PCa cells
response to therapy. For this purpose, it was used the receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor
imatinib and two cell line models of CRPC. Higher glucose availability improved the
effectiveness of imatinib suppressing survival and growth of CRPC cells Moreover, imatinib
treatment stimulated the glycolytic metabolism of CRPC cells. Overall, it was showed that
hyperglycemia, the main serum alteration in diabetic patients, potentiated the effects of
imatinib in CRPC cells, which raises the curiosity about the efficacy of this drug for treatment
of castration-resistant diabetic patients.
In conclusion, the main findings of this thesis confirmed the crucial actions of
androgens in regulating the metabolism of PCa cells. These effects were pivotal for PCa cells
obtaining energy and triggered proliferation and metastasis. Another innovative result of the
present thesis was the identification of the cholesterol and androgens interplay in inducing
survival and invasiveness features of PCa cells. Moreover, this dissertation demonstrated the
flexibility of PCa cells using different energy sources and contributed to a better
understanding of the role of lipids and glutamine in PCa. The molecular mechanism
underlying the metabolic support of cancer cell survival and growth were highlighted.
Overall, the information gathered in this thesis supports the metabolic environment and
androgens as “co-authors” orchestrating the reprogramming of PCa and cancer development.
Further research on this interplay could be a basis for the development of new treatment
approaches for PCa.
Estrogens down-regulate the stem cell factor (SCF)/c-KIT system in prostate cells: Evidence of antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects
Publication . Figueira, Marília I; Correia, Sara; Vaz, Cátia; Cardoso, HJ; Gomes, Inês; Marques, Ricardo; Baptista, Cláudio; Socorro, Sílvia
The development of prostate cancer (PCa) is intimately associated with the hormonal environment, and the sex steroids estrogens have been implicated in prostate malignancy. However, if some studies identified estrogens as causative agents of PCa, others indicated that these steroids have a protective role counteracting prostate overgrowth. The tyrosine kinase receptor c-KIT and its ligand, the stem cell factor (SCF), have been associated with the control of cell proliferation/apoptosis and prostate carcinogenesis, and studies show that estrogens regulate their expression in different tissues, though, in the case of prostate this remains unknown. The present study aims to evaluate the role of 17β-estradiol (E2) in regulating the expression of SCF/c-KIT in human prostate cell lines and rat prostate, and to investigate the consequent effects on prostate cell proliferation and apoptosis. qPCR, Western Blot, and immuno(cito)histochemistry analysis showed that E2-treatment decreased the expression of SCF and c-KIT both in human prostate cells and rat prostate. Furthermore, the diminished expression of SCF/c-KIT was underpinned by the diminished prostate weight and reduced proliferation index. On the other hand, the results of TUNEL labelling, the increased activity of caspase-3, and the augmented expression of caspase-8 and Fas system in the prostate of E2-treated animals indicated augmented apoptosis in response to E2. The obtained results demonstrated that E2 down-regulated the expression of SCF/c-KIT system in prostate cells, which was associated with antiproliferative and proapoptotic effects. Moreover, these findings support the protective role of estrogens in PCa and open new perspectives on the application of estrogen-based therapies.
Sweet Cherry Extract Targets the Hallmarks of Cancer in Prostate Cells: Diminished Viability, Increased Apoptosis and Suppressed Glycolytic Metabolism
Publication . Silva, Gonçalo; Vaz, CV; Catalão, Beatriz; Ferreira, Susana; Cardoso, HJ; Duarte, A. P.; Socorro, Sílvia
The present work evaluated the anticancer properties of sweet cherry (Prunus avium) extract on human prostate cells. Several sweet cherry cultivars from Fundão (Portugal) were methanol-extracted and their phytochemical composition characterized. The Saco "late harvest" extract was highly-enriched in anthocyanins and selected for use in biological assays. Non-neoplastic (PNT1A) and neoplastic (LNCaP and PC3) human prostate cells were treated with 0-2,000 μg/ml of extract for 48-96 h. Cell viability was evaluated by the MTT assay. Apoptosis, oxidative stress, and glycolytic metabolism were assessed by Western blotting and enzymatic assays. Glucose consumption and lactate production were measured spectrophotometrically. Saco cherry extract diminished the viability of neoplastic and non-neoplastic cells, whereas enhancing apoptosis in LNCaP. Cherry extract-treatment also diminished oxidative damage and suppressed glycolytic metabolism in LNCaP cells. These findings widened the knowledge on the mechanisms by which cherry extract modulate cell physiology, demonstrating their broad action over the hallmarks of cancer.
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Funding agency
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
Funding programme
POR_CENTRO
Funding Award Number
SFRH/BD/111351/2015