Susceptibility of the human LNCaP prostate cancer cells to the apoptotic effect of marina crystal minerals (MCM) in vitro

Abstract

Abstract. Prostate cancer is one of the most frequent cancers among men in the United States. In the current study, we examined the susceptibility of the human LNCaP prostate cancer cells to the apoptotic effect of marina crystal minerals (MCM), a crystallized mixture of minerals and trace elements from sea water, in vitro. Cancer cells were cultured with MCM at different concentrations (0-1000 μg/ml). At day 3, MCM exhibited a marked apoptotic effect on LNCaP cells as measured by propidium iodide (PI) and Giemsastained cytospin preparations. The apoptotic effect was dosedependent: a 2-fold increase in the level of apoptosis over the control cells was observed at low concentrations of 50 μg/ml, maximial (3-fold) at a concentration of 500-1000 μg/ml. The mechanism by which MCM induces apoptosis was examined. Flow cytometery analysis demonstrated that mitochondrial membrane potential was significantly decreased post-treatment with MCM at low concentrations of 100 μg/ml. In addition, Western blot analysis showed that the level of anti-apoptotic molecule Bcl-2 in LNCaP cells decreased upon treatment with MCM. We conclude that MCM has an apoptotic effect toward human prostate cancer cells, which may suggest its broader potential as an innovative, non-toxic anti-cancer agent. IntroductionProstate cancer is the most common non-cutaneous cancer among males. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and digital rectal examination (DRE) are the 2 components necessary for a modern screening program. While prostate cancer can be a slow-growing cancer, thousands of men die of the disease each year. According to recent figures from the American Cancer Society, 220,900 new cases were diagnosed in 2003 and 28,900 men were predicted to die of prostate cancer. Prostate cancer is rarely diagnosed in men younger than 40 years and it is uncommon in men younger than 50 years. Prostate cancer is also found during autopsies performed following other causes of death. The rate of this latent-or autopsydiagnosed cancer is much greater than that of clinical cancer. In fact, it may be as high as 80% by age 80 years. In addition, genetic studies suggest that a strong familial predisposition may be responsible for as many as 5-10% of prostate cancer cases (1,2). Most prostate cancers are adenocarcinomas (95%). Prior to metastasis, oncologists mainly rely on surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy for cancer treatment of prostate cancers. The destruction of cells by chemotherapy and radiation therapy is indiscriminate with serious side effects. In addition to being toxic, both chemotherapy and radiation therapy are also immune-suppressive, mutagenic and carcinogenic (3-6). Hormone therapy is also commonly used to treat prostate cancer. Most clinical trials to date have evaluated flutamide or nilutamide for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. Results showed that these drugs resulted in a survival increase of only 8% at 5 years (7).In the field of prostate cancer therapeutics, it is known that some cancers respond well to specific chemotherapy ...

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