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Targeting galectin-1 impairs castration-resistant prostate cancer progression and invasion

  • T.-C. Shih
  • , R. Liu
  • , C.-T. Wu
  • , X. Li
  • , W. Xiao
  • , X. Deng
  • , S. Kiss
  • , T. Wang
  • , X.-J. Chen
  • , R. Carney
  • , H.-J. Kung
  • , Y. Duan
  • , P.M. Ghosh
  • , K.S. Lam

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Purpose: The majority of patients with prostate cancer who are treated with androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) will eventually develop fatal metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Currently, there are no effective durable therapies for patients with mCRPC. High expression of galectin-1 (Gal-1) is associated with prostate cancer progression and poor clinical outcome. The role of Gal-1 in tumor progression is largely unknown. Here, we characterized Gal-1 functions and evaluated the therapeutic effects of a newly developed Gal-1 inhibitor, LLS30, in mCRPC. Experimental Design: Cell viability, colony formation, migration, and invasion assays were performed to examine the effects of inhibition of Gal-1 in CRPC cells. We used two human CRPC xenograft models to assess growth-inhibitory effects of LLS30. Genome-wide gene expression analysis was conducted to elucidate the effects of LLS30 on metastatic PC3 cells. Results: Gal-1 was highly expressed in CRPC cells, but not in androgen-sensitive cells. Gal-1 knockdown significantly inhibited CRPC cells' growth, anchorage-independent growth, migration, and invasion through the suppression of androgen receptor (AR) and Akt signaling. LLS30 targets Gal-1 as an allosteric inhibitor and decreases Gal-1–binding affinity to its binding partners. LLS30 showed in vivo efficacy in both AR-positive and AR-negative xenograft models. LLS30 not only can potentiate the antitumor effect of docetaxel to cause complete regression of tumors, but can also effectively inhibit the invasion and metastasis of prostate cancer cells in vivo. Conclusions: Our study provides evidence that Gal-1 is an important target for mCRPC therapy, and LLS30 is a promising small-molecule compound that can potentially overcome mCRPC. © 2018 American Association for Cancer Research.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4319-4331
Number of pages13
JournalClinical Cancer Research
Volume24
Issue number17
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  1. SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
    SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

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