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Abstract
Sulfur is a bright yellow crystalline solid at room temperature. The aim of the present study was to investigate the inhibitory effect of sulfur on prostate cancer (PCa) in vivo. Prostate tumors were developed by injecting 22Rv1 or DU-145 PCa cells into sulfur-treated or untreated nude mice. The weight and volume of the tumors were measured. The cancer cells were separated from the tumors, and analyzed for their growth rate and clonogenicity in culture. The expression of PCa-targeted genes was also assessed using real-time polymerase chain reaction. The rate of growth of 22Rv1 tumors in sulfur-treated nude mice gradually decreased, and was reduced by 41.99% (P<0.01) after 22 days when compared with that of the control group. In addition, the growth of DU-145 tumors was also suppressed by 75.16% (P<0.05) after 11 weeks. The clonogenicity of the sulfur-treated tumor cells decreased by 36.7% when compared with that of the control cells. However, no significant difference in cell growth was identified. mRNA levels of the androgen-receptor, prostate specific antigen and human Hox (NKX3.1) genes were significantly decreased by 32.8, 48.2 and 42.2% in sulfur-treated tumors, respectively. Additionally, it was found that the hydrogen sulfide concentration in the serum of sulfur-treated mice was increased by 4.73% (P<0.05). Sulfur significantly suppressed the growth of PCa in vivo. Since sulfur is a known ingredient used in traditional Chinese medicine, it may be used clinically for the treatment of PCa, independently or in combination with other medicine.
Highlights
Sulfur is bright yellow crystalline solid or powder material
It was confirmed by United States Pharmacopeia that sublimed sulfur and subsided sulfur may be used as drugs [4]
The growth of the tumors obtained from sulfur‐treated mice gradually slowed down, and a significant difference was identified 18 days following inoculation when compared with that of the control group
Summary
In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), sulfur is widely used for detoxifying the body and the treatment of scabies [1,2], healing sores and itching [3]. It was confirmed by United States Pharmacopeia that sublimed sulfur and subsided sulfur may be used as drugs [4]. When absorbed by the skin, sulfur is metabolized to inorganic sulfide or organic sulfocompounds, and it is involved in metabolism in vivo [5]. Allicin, which contains diallyl disulfide, reduced the risk of a variety of malignant tumors, including different glioblastoma cells [8] and hepatocellular carcinoma [9] in vitro, and osteosarcoma cells in vitro and in vivo [10,11]
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