Abstract 2459: Altered bioenergetics profile in prostate cancer cells treated with andrographolide
Authors: Jesus Sosa, María Sánchez Vázquez, Sylvette Ayala-Peña, Carlos Torres Ramos, Magaly Martínez Ferrer
Journal: Cancer Research (2021)

Abstract Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States alone. An emerging area of cancer therapeutics is the combination of the standard-of-care treatment with natural products. Andrographolide, a labdane diterpenoid and the main bioactive component of the medicinal plant Andrographis paniculata, has shown a wide range of therapeutic potential, including cancer. Previous studies from our laboratory have demonstrated that Andrographolide induces a DNA damage response, including ATM gene upregulation, involving cell growth suppression, cell cycle arrest, and apoptosis in PCa in vitro. The ATM gene is an important regulator of p53 and is consider a master switch for the p53-family member p63. The p63 is a natural marker of the basal lamina in the normal prostate, while its expression is lost in 99% of prostatic adenocarcinomas. Like p53, the p63 protein is implicated in tumor suppression and inhibition of metastasis, and also plays a role in energy metabolism. In this study, we aim to (1) determine the role of Andrographolide on the expression of p63, and (2) determine the bioenergetics profile of PCa cells. Androgen-dependent (22Rv1) and androgen-independent (PC3) PCa cell lines were treated with Andrographolide (25µM) for 24 h and 48 h. The gene expression of TP63 was assessed by real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). At the protein level, the expression of p63 was evaluated by immunofluorescence. The bioenergetics profile was performed using the Agilent Seahorse XF Real-Time ATP Rate Assay to determine the ATP production from glycolysis and mitochondria in living PC3 and 22Rv1 PCa cells. RT-PCR analysis showed a significant upregulation of the TP63 gene with a fold-change of 2.2 (p&amp;lt; 0.05) and immunofluorescence analysis showed an increase in expression of p63 protein with a fold-change of 1.8 (p&amp;lt; 0.05) in 22Rv1 cells treated with Andrographolide. The bioenergetics profile of PC3 cells, 48 h after Andrographolide treatment, revealed a shift in the cytoplasmic to mitochondrial ATP production rate from 54.4% to 72.6% and from 45.6% to 27.4%, respectively. Similar results were obtained in 22Rv1 cells. These results confirmed that Andrographolide induces the expression of the tumor protein p63 in androgen-dependent 22Rv1 PCa cells and alters the bioenergetics profile of both PC3 and 22Rv1 PCa cells. Our findings suggest a novel mechanism in which Andrographolide promotes the expression of p63 as in normal cells, and transforms the bioenergetics by increasing glycolytic-ATP. Citation Format: Jesus Sosa, María Sánchez Vázquez, Sylvette Ayala-Peña, Carlos Torres Ramos, Magaly Martínez Ferrer. Altered bioenergetics profile in prostate cancer cells treated with andrographolide [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 2459.