Abstract

Cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF)s in the tumour microenvironment (TME) modulate the extracellular matrix, interact with cancer cells, and facilitate communication with infiltrating leukocytes, significantly contributing to cancer progression and therapeutic response. In prostate cancer (PCa), CAFs promote malignancy through metabolic rewiring, cancer stem cell regulation, and therapy resistance. Pre-clinical studies indicate that targeting amino acid metabolism, particularly glutamine (Gln) metabolism, reduces cancer proliferation and stemness. However, most studies lack the context of CAF-cancer interaction, focusing on monocultures. This study assesses the influence of CAFs on PCa growth by manipulating Gln metabolism using colour-labelled PCa cell lines (red) and fibroblast (green) in a co-culture system to evaluate CAFs' effects on PCa cell proliferation and clonogenic potential. CAFs increased the proliferation of hormone-sensitive LNCaP cells, whereas the castration-resistant C4-2 cells were unaffected. However, clonogenic growth increased in both cell lines. Gln deprivation and GLS1 inhibition experiments revealed that the increased growth rate of LNCAP cells was associated with increased dependence on Gln, which was confirmed by proteomic analyses. Tissue analysis of PCa patients revealed elevated GLS1 levels in both the PCa epithelium and stroma, suggesting that GLS1 is a therapeutic target. Moreover, the median overall survival analysis of GLS1 expression in the PCa epithelium and stroma identified a "high-risk" patient group that may benefit from GLS1-targeted therapies. Therefore, GLS1 targeting appears promising in castration-resistant PCa patients with high GLS1 epithelium and low GLS1 stromal expression.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.