Sonlicromanol's active metabolite KH176m normalizes prostate cancer stem cell mPGES-1 overexpression and inhibits cancer spheroid growth

PLoS One. 2021 Jul 9;16(7):e0254315. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254315. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

Aggressiveness of cancers, like prostate cancer, has been found to be associated with elevated expression of the microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1 (mPGES-1). Here, we investigated whether KH176m (the active metabolite of sonlicromanol), a recently discovered selective mPGES-1 inhibitor, could affect prostate cancer cells-derived spheroid growth. We demonstrated that KH176m suppressed mPGES-1 expression and growth of DU145 (high mPGES-1 expression)-derived spheroids, while it had no effect on the LNCaP cell line, which has low mPGES-1 expression. By addition of exogenous PGE2, we found that the effect of KH176m on mPGES-1 expression and spheroid growth is due to the inhibition of a PGE2-driven positive feedback control-loop of mPGES-1 transcriptional regulation. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a subset of cancer cells exhibiting the ability of self-renewal, plasticity, and initiating and maintaining tumor growth. Our data shows that mPGES-1 is specifically expressed in this CSCs subpopulation (CD44+CD24-). KH176m inhibited the expression of mPGES-1 and reduced the growth of spheroids derived from the CSC. Based on the results obtained we propose selective mPGES-1 targeting by the sonlicromanol metabolite KH176m as a potential novel treatment approach for cancer patients with high mPGES-1 expression.

MeSH terms

  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects
  • Dinoprostone / metabolism
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / drug effects
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Neoplastic Stem Cells* / drug effects
  • Neoplastic Stem Cells* / metabolism
  • Neoplastic Stem Cells* / pathology
  • Prostaglandin-E Synthases* / genetics
  • Prostaglandin-E Synthases* / metabolism
  • Prostatic Neoplasms* / genetics
  • Prostatic Neoplasms* / metabolism
  • Prostatic Neoplasms* / pathology
  • Spheroids, Cellular* / drug effects
  • Spheroids, Cellular* / metabolism
  • Spheroids, Cellular* / pathology

Substances

  • Prostaglandin-E Synthases
  • PTGES protein, human
  • Dinoprostone

Grants and funding

X.J. was supported by grant from the China Scholarship Council (Project No. 201506990005). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.