Lichen secondary metabolites have drawn considerable attention in recent years due to limitations of current treatment options. Vulpinic acid (VA) obtained from Letharia vulpina lichen species exerts a remarkable cytotoxic effect on different cancer types. However, the therapeutic e cacy of VA in metastatic prostate cancer (mPC) cells has not been investigated. In the present study, we aimed to identify VA-mediated cytotoxicity in PC-3 mPC cells compared with control cells. After identi cation of the cytotoxic concentrations of VA, VA induced apoptosis was analyzed by Annexin V, cell cycle, acridine orange and propidium iodide staining and RT-PCR analysis. Our ndings showed that VA signi cantly decreased the viability of PC-3 cells (p < 0.01) and caused a considerable early apoptotic effect through G0/G1 arrest, nuclear bleebing and the activation of particularly initiator caspases. Therefore, VA may be a potential treatment option for mPC patients. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of VAinduced apoptosis with advanced analysis should be further performed.
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