Inhibition of Prostate Cancer Cell Proliferation and Survival by Rosemary Extract

Abstract

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men. Despite many advances in diagnosis and treatment, prostate cancer is the second‐leading cause of cancer related death amongst men in North America and therefore there is an urgent need to find novel chemicals that can be used effectively towards the treatment of prostate cancer patients. Prostate cancers are typically characterized by the expression of androgen receptor (AR) and prostate‐specific antigen (PSA). Prostate cancers that are AR positive can be treated with hormonal therapy, however those which are AR negative are more aggressive and do not respond to hormone therapy, thus this subtype of prostate cancer requires targeted treatments. Many chemotherapeutic drugs have been discovered by screening natural products from plants. Polyphenols derived from the plant rosemary, have been found to have antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory effects and are proposed to have anticancer activity. In previous studies, rosemary extract (RE) has been found to reduce cell proliferation, viability, survival, and increase apoptosis in various cancer cell lines. However, there is very limited evidence examining RE's effects in androgen receptor negative prostate cancer cells. In the present study, we examine the effects of rosemary extract on PC‐3 prostate cancer cell proliferation, survival, migration and apoptosis. RE significantly inhibited PC‐3 cell proliferation and survival in a dose dependent manner. Furthermore, RE reduced cell migration and enhanced the cleavage of PARP, a marker of apoptosis. Our findings indicate that RE may have potent anti‐cancer properties against AR negative prostate cancer and supports the need for further investigation into its role in modulating key signaling pathways involved in cell proliferation, survival, and migration.Support or Funding InformationSupported by the Prostate Cancer Fight Foundation.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.