STEAP1 REGULATION AND ITS INFLUENCE ON MODULATION OF THE PROLIFERATIVE RESPONSE, CELL SURVIVAL AND APOPTOSIS OF HUMAN PROSTATE CANCER CELLS SUBMITTED TO ENZALUTAMIDE AND CYANIDIN-3-O-GLYCOSIDE TREATMENTS

• Grant number: 24/00576-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: September 01, 2024
• End date: April 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Pathological Anatomy and Clinical Pathology
• Principal Investigator: Valéria Helena Alves Cagnon Quitete
• Grantee: Felipe Rabelo Santos
• Supervisor: Claudio Jorge Maia Baptista
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universidade da Beira Interior (UBI), Portugal
• Associated to the scholarship: 22/10794-3 - JABOTICABA PEEL EXTRACT ASSOCIATED WITH ANDROGENIC ABLATION (ENZALUTAMIDE AND PHYSICAL CASTRATION) IN PROSTATE ADENOCARCINOMA: CELL AND MOLECULAR RESPONSE IN VITRO AND IN VIVO, BP.DR

Abstract

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most common cancer among men. Initially, PCa responds to androgenic deprivation therapy (ADT). However, some of these cases become ADT-resistant PCa, transforming into castration-resistant PCa (CRPC). It is known that PCa is a multifactorial disease, where different processes and molecules are involved in PCa development and progression. Among these molecules, the STEAP1 protein stands out with an important role in PCa cells, due to its ability to inhibit apoptosis, increase cell proliferation and invasion. Therefore, different types of treatment have been developed with aim of delaying/preventing the progression of this disease. Due to this, the relevance of co-therapy between drugs used in clinical practice with natural compounds is being explored. Enzalutamide stands out as being a second-generation, non-steroidal antiandrogenic drug, binding to the androgen receptor, inducing apoptosis and inhibiting the proliferation of CRPC cells. Among the natural compounds, anthocyanins stand out, particularly cyanidin-3-O-glucoside (C3G), which has shown anti-proliferative effects. Thus, the present project aims to evaluate the effect of co-treatment of enzalutamide and C3G on the regulation of STEAP1 expression in human PCa cell lines, and the response of prostate cells to treatment, after STEAP1 gene silencing. This evaluation will be carried out through the characterization of pathways involved in cell proliferation/survival and apoptosis, using MTT assay, PCR and Western Blotting.