Effects of a glucosamine-derivative on prostate cancer cell line PC3

Prostate Cancer (CaP) is the most common form of male tumor and is the second leading cause of cancer death. Androgen ablation has proved to be an effective therapy for metastatic prostate cancer, but the regression of metastatic lesions lasts only 18 to 24 months. Mammary serine protease inhibitor or Maspin is a 42 kDa, a non-inhibitory member of the serine protease inhibitor superfamily, and has been characterized as a class II tumor suppressor gene in several cancer types, among them prostate cancer (CaP), due to its ability to inhibit metastasis. In normal prostate epithelial cells, Maspin is highly expressed whereas in prostate cancer cell lines its expression is almost completely suppressed. Previously, it has been demonstrated that NCPA, a glucosamine-derivative synthetized in our laboratory, was able to inhibit IKKα nuclear translocation and to stimulate the production and nuclear localization of Maspin in an osteosarcoma cell line: 143B. IKKα, one of two catalytic subunits of NF-B transcriptional factors, enhances tumor promotion by repressing, among other mechanisms, maspin promoter. Tumor-suppressing and anti-metastatic activities of Maspin have been attributed to its ability to inhibit both invasiveness and cell cycle progression and to stimulate apoptosis of tumor cells. Aim of this presentation is to analyze the ability of NCPA to affect metastatic and proliferation activity of PC3, which is an androgen-insensitive prostate cancer cell line.