Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Des Moines University, Des Moines, IA, 50312, USA.
Department of Surgery, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, MO, 65212, USA.
Med Oncol. 2021 Nov 5;39(1):2. doi: 10.1007/s12032-021-01598-4.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in the USA. A peptide derived from the active site of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), known as AFPep, has been shown to be efficacious in inhibiting breast cancer growth. The role of this derived peptide AFPep in the development of prostate cancer has yet to be studied. To investigate the role of AFPep on prostate cancer, we used the PC-3 and DU-145 cell lines. We found that through key anti-apoptosis and pro-proliferation molecules, AFPep enhances the proliferation of DU-145 prostate cancer cells. The anti-proliferative molecules p18, p21, and p27, along with the pro-apoptotic molecules Fas and Bax, were all down-regulated in DU-145 cell lines treated with AFPep. Conversely, AFPep was not found to have a proliferative effect on the PC-3 prostate cancer cell line. This finding suggests the effects of AFPep to be cell line-specific in prostate cancer. Further investigation into the effects of AFPep could lead to new areas of treating prostate cancer.
前列腺癌是美国男性中最常见的癌症。一种源自甲胎蛋白（AFP）活性部位的肽，称为 AFPep，已被证明能有效抑制乳腺癌的生长。然而，这种衍生肽 AFPep 在前列腺癌发展中的作用尚未得到研究。为了研究 AFPep 在前列腺癌中的作用，我们使用了 PC-3 和 DU-145 细胞系。我们发现，通过关键的抗凋亡和促增殖分子，AFPep 增强了 DU-145 前列腺癌细胞的增殖。在用 AFPep 处理的 DU-145 细胞系中，抗增殖分子 p18、p21 和 p27 以及促凋亡分子 Fas 和 Bax 均下调。相反，AFPep 并未发现对 PC-3 前列腺癌细胞系有增殖作用。这一发现表明 AFPep 在前列腺癌中的作用具有细胞系特异性。进一步研究 AFPep 的作用可能会开辟治疗前列腺癌的新领域。
