Despite recent advances in the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), outcome of patients remains poor due to the development of drug resistance. Thus, new drugs are urgently needed. We investigated efficacy, toxicity and mechanism of action of marine triterpene glycoside frondoside A (FrA) using CRPC cell lines in vitro and in vivo. FrA revealed high efficacy in human prostate cancer cells, while non-malignant cells were less sensitive. Remarkably, proliferation and colony formation of cells resistant to enzalutamide and abiraterone (due to the androgen receptor splice variant AR-V7) were also significantly inhibited by FrA. The marine compound caused cell type specific cell cycle arrest and induction of caspase-dependent or -independent apoptosis. Up-regulation or induction of several pro-apoptotic proteins (Bax, Bad, PTEN), cleavage of PARP and caspase-3 and down-regulation of anti-apoptotic proteins (survivin and Bcl-2) were detected in treated cells. Global proteome analysis revealed regulation of proteins involved in formation of metastases, tumor cell invasion, and apoptosis, like keratin 81, CrkII, IL-1b and cathepsin B. Inhibition of pro-survival autophagy was observed following FrA exposure. In vivo, FrA inhibited tumor growth of PC-3 and DU145 cells with a notable reduction of lung metastasis, as well as circulating tumor cells in the peripheral blood. Increased lymphocyte counts of treated animals might indicate an immune

Monanchocidin A (MonA) is a novel alkaloid recently isolated from the marine sponge Monanchora pulchra. The compound reveals cytotoxic activity in genitourinary cancers including cisplatin-sensitive and -resistant germ cell tumor (GCT) cell lines, hormone-sensitive and castration-resistant prostate carcinoma cell lines and different bladder carcinoma cell lines. In contrast, non-malignant cells were significantly less sensitive. MonA is highly synergistic with cisplatin in GCT cells. Induction of autophagy at lower and lysosomal membrane permeabilization (LMP) at higher concentrations were identified as the dominating modes of action. Cytotoxicity and protein degradation could be inhibited by 3-methyladenine, an inhibitor of autophagy. LMP was confirmed by loss of acridine orange staining of lysosoms and by release of cathepsin B. In conclusion, MonA exerts cytotoxiс activity by mechanisms different from “classical” apoptosis, and could be a promising new compound to overcome resistance to standard therapies in genitourinary malignancies.

Purpose-3-Demethylubiquinone Q 2 (1) was isolated from the ascidian Aplidium glabrum. The cancer preventive properties and the structure-activity relationship for 3-demethylubiquinone Q2 (1) and 12 of its synthetic analogues (3-14) are reported.Methods-Compounds 3-14, having one or several di-or triprenyl substitutions and quinone moieties with methoxyls in different positions, were synthesized. The cancer preventive properties of compounds 1 and 3-14 were tested in JB6 Cl41 mouse skin cells, using a variety of assessments, including the MTS assay, flow cytometry, and soft agar assay. Statistical nonparametric methods were used to confirm statistical significance.Results-All quinones tested were shown to inhibit JB6 Cl41 cell transformation, to induce apoptosis, AP-1 and NF-κB activity, and to inhibit p53 activity. The most promising effects were indicated for compounds containing two isoprene units in a side chain and a methoxyl group at the para-position to a polyprenyl substitution.Conclusions-Quinones 1 and 3-14 demonstrated cancer preventive activity in JB6 Cl41 cells, which may be attributed to the induction of p53-independent apoptosis. These activities depended on the length of side chains and on the positions of the methoxyl groups in the quinone part of the molecule.Keywords marine prenylated quinones; cancer prevention; apoptosis; nuclear factor; structure-activity relationship ABBREVIATIONS 3-demethylubiquinone Q2. 2,3-dimethoxy-5-(3′,7′-dimethyl-octa-2′(E),6′-dienyl)- [1,4] benzoquinone (1); EGF, epidermal growth factor; TPA, 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate; FBS, fetal bovine serum; MEM, minimum essential medium

Many marine-derived polysaccharides and their analogues have been reported as showing anticancer and cancer preventive properties. These compounds demonstrate interesting activities and special modes of action, differing from each other in both structure and toxicity profile. Herein, literature data concerning anticancer and cancer preventive marine polysaccharides are reviewed. The structural diversity, the biological activities, and the molecular mechanisms of their action are discussed.

a b s t r a c tFrondoside A is a pentaoside having an acetyl moiety at the aglycon ring and xylose as a third monosaccharide residue. Cucumarioside A 2 -2 is a pentaoside having glucose as a third monosaccahride unit. We compared the effects of frondoside A and A 2 -2 for cell death-inducing capability with close attention paid to structure-activity relationships. Both frondoside A and A 2 -2 strongly induced apoptosis of leukemic cells. Frondoside A-induced apoptosis was more potent and rapid than A 2 -2-induced apoptosis. A 2 -2-induced but not frondoside A-induced apoptosis was caspase-dependent. This suggests that holothurians may induce apoptosis of leukemic cells caspase-dependently or -independently, depending on the holothurian structure.

Aaptamine is a marine compound isolated from the sponge Aaptos aaptos showing antiproliferative properties via an undefined mode of action. We analyzed the effects of aaptamine treatment on the proliferation and protein expression of the pluripotent human embryonal carcinoma cell line NT2. Effects on proliferation, cell cycle distribution, and induction of apoptosis were analyzed. At lower concentrations, including the IC 50 of 50 μM, aaptamine treatment resulted in a G2/M phase cell cycle arrest, whereas at higher concentrations, induction of apoptosis was seen. Differentially expressed proteins were assessed by 2D-PAGE and mass spectrometry, followed by verification and analysis of protein modifications of the most significantly up-and down-regulated proteins. Aaptamine treatment at the IC 50 for 48 h resulted in alteration of 10 proteins, of which five each showed upand down-regulation. Changes in the 2D map were frequently noticed as a result of post-transcriptional modifications, e.g., of the hypusine modification of the eukaryotic initiation factor 5A (eIF5A). Observed alterations such as increased expression of CRABP2 and hypusination of eIF5A have previously been identified during differentiation of pluripotent cells. For the first time, we describe changes in protein expression caused by aaptamine, providing valuable information regarding the mode of action of this compound.

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The marine natural chamigrane-type sesquiterpenoid, dactylone, is closely related to secondary metabolites of some edible species of red algae. In the present study, the effect of dactylone was tested on the mouse skin epidermal JB6 P + Cl41 cell line and its stable transfectants as well as on several human tumor cell lines, including lung (H460), colon (HCT-116), and skin melanomas (SK-MEL-5 and SK-MEL-28). This natural product was effective at nontoxic doses as a cancerpreventive agent, which exerted its actions, at least in part, through the inhibition of cyclin D3 and Cdk4 expression and retinoblastoma tumor suppressor protein (Rb) phosphorylation. The inhibition of these cell cycle components was followed by cell cycle arrest at the G 1 -S transition with subsequent p53-independent apoptosis. Therefore, these data showed that application of dactylone and related compounds may lead to decreased malignant cell transformation and/or decreased tumor cell proliferation. [Cancer Res 2007;67(12):5914-20]