The Combination Effect of Ferulic Acid and Gemcitabine on Expression of Genes Related Apoptosis and Metastasis in PC-3 Prostate Cancer Cells

Abstract

ABSTRACTObjective: Prostate cancer is the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths in men. Nowadays, new treatment approaches have been tested for cancer therapy including natural compounds with low toxicity. Ferulic acid (FA) is known asan abundant phenolic compound found in various fruits and vegetables. As a potent antioxidant, the anticarcinogenic effect of FA has been demonstrated in various cancer cell lines. The objective of this study was to investigate the combined effectof FA and gemcitabine on apoptosis and metastasis in PC-3 human prostate cancer cell lines.Materials and Methods: Cell viability was determined using the XTT method after the cells were treated with gemcitabine or FA and gemcitabine. According to the results of cytotoxicity assays, PC-3 cells were treated with <IC50 doses of combination (200 ?M FA and 35 ?M gemcitabine) and IC50 dose of gemcitabine. Expressions of genes that are important in apoptosis and metastasis pathways were evaluated in dose and control groups by qPCR.Results: According to the results, the combination of FA and gemcitabine affected the expression of more genes in apoptosis and metastasis with a higher fold change compared with the single treatment of gemcitabine in PC-3 human prostate cancercell lines.Conclusion: Our study indicates that FA can be an effective part of the combination treatments