Assessment of the anticancer mechanism of ferulic acid via cell cycle and apoptotic pathways in human prostate cancer cell lines

Studies on genetic changes underlying prostate cancer and the possible signaling pathways are getting increased day by day, and new treatment methods are being searched for. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effects of ferulic acid (FA), a phenolic compound, on cell cycle, apoptosis, invasion, and colony formation in the PC-3 and LNCaP prostate cancer cells. The effect of FA on cell viability was determined via a 2,3-bis-(2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium-5-carboxanilide (XTT) method. Total RNA was isolated with Tri Reagent. Expression of 84 genes for both cell cycle and apoptosis separately was evaluated by reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR). Protein expressions were evaluated by Western blot analysis. Furthermore, apoptotic effects of FA were observed with terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase deoxyuridine triphosphate nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay. Effects of FA on cell invasion and colony formation were determined using Matrigel chamber and colony assay, respectively. The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) dose of FA was found to be 300 μM in PC-3 cells and 500 μM in LNCaP cells. According to RT-PCR results, it was observed that FA inhibited cell proliferation by increasing the gene expressions of ATR, ATM, CDKN1A, CDKN1B, E2F4, RB1, and TP53 and decreasing the gene expressions of CCND1, CCND2, CCND3, CDK2, CDK4, and CDK6 in PC-3 cells. On the other hand, it was seen that FA suppressed cell proliferation by increasing in the gene expressions of CASP1, CASP2, CASP8, CYCS, FAS, FASLG, and TRADD and decreasing in the gene expressions of BCL2 and XIAP in LNCaP cells. In this study, protein expression of CDK4 and BCL2 genes significantly decreased in these cells. It could induce apoptosis in PC-3 and LNCaP cells. Also, it was observed that FA suppressed the invasion in PC-3 and LNCaP cells. Moreover, it suppressed the colony formation. In conclusion, it has been observed that FA may lead to cell cycle arrest in PC-3 cells while it may cause apoptosis in LNCaP cells.