Edelfosine Promotes Apoptosis in Androgen Deprived Prostate Tumors by Increasing ATF3 and Inhibiting Androgen Receptor Activity

Edelfosine is a synthetic alkyl-lysophospholipid (ALP) that possesses significant antitumor activity in several human tumor models. Here, we investigated the effects of edelfosine combined with androgen deprivation (AD) in LNCaP and VCaP human prostate cancer cells.

This treatment regimen greatly decreased cell proliferation compared to single agent or AD alone resulting in higher levels of apoptosis in LNCaP compared to VCaP cells. Edelfosine caused a dose-dependent decrease in AKT activity, but did not affect the expression of total AKT in either cell line. Furthermore, edelfosine treatment inhibited the expression of androgen receptor (AR) and was associated with an increase in activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3) expression levels, a stress response gene and a negative regulator of AR transactivation. ATF3 binds to AR after edelfosine + AD and represses the transcriptional activation of AR as demonstrated by prostate specific antigen (PSA) promoter studies. Knockdown of ATF3 using siRNA-ATF3 reversed the inhibition of PSA promoter activity, suggesting that the growth inhibition effect of edelfosine was ATF3 dependent. Moreover, expression of AR variant 7 (ARv7) and TMPRSS2-ERG fusion gene were greatly inhibited after combined treatment with AD and edelfosine in VCaP cells. In vivo experiments using an orthotopic LNCaP model confirmed the anti-tumor effects of edelfosine + AD over the individual treatments. A significant decrease in tumor volume and PSA levels were observed when edelfosine and AD were combined, compared to edelfosine alone. Edelfosine shows promise in combination with AD for the treatment of prostate cancer patients.

Molecular cancer therapeutics. 2016 Mar 04 [Epub ahead of print]

Thirupandiyur S Udayakumar, Radka Stoyanova, Mohammed M Shareef, Zhaomei Mu, Sakhi Philip, Kerry L Burnstein, Alan Pollack

Department of Radiation Oncology, Sylvester Cancer Center, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami., Department of Radiation Oncology, Sylvester Cancer Center, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami., Department of Radiation Oncology, Sylvester Cancer Center, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami., Department of Medical Oncology, Thomas Jefferson University., Department of Radiation Oncology, Sylvester Cancer Center, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami., Department of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, University of Miami., Department of Radiation Oncology, Sylvester Cancer Center, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami