Prostate cancer is one of the leading causes of death among men. Our study focuses on seeking new compounds and combinations to diminish the severe side effects of classical anticancer drugs for treating this type of cancer. In this study, we investigated and compared the classical anticancer drugs and non-classical compounds docetaxel, Au porphyrin, and the plant lectin jacalin, and in different combinations on the prostate cancer cell line PC3.
Jacalin, isolated from jackfruit seeds by affinity chromatography on immobilized galactose, specifically recognizes the tumor-associated Thomsen–Friedenreich antigen. The present investigation shows the interaction of jacalin with Au porphyrin, registering conformational changes within the protein due to the binding. From the titration curve, the affinity of 1.8±0.39 µM for the jacalin–Au porphyrin complex was calculated.
In vitro experiments with PC3 cells treated with docetaxel or Au porphyrin indicated a decrease in cell viability, compared with the jacalin–Au porphyrin complex, as registered by viability assays.
The IC50 for Au porphyrin and for docetaxel were studied and indicated that the calculated IC50 for docetaxel was 8 orders of magnitude higher than that for Au porphyrin.
Our results demonstrate the effects of three compounds as well as the effects of their combinations upon treatment of PC3 cells. Molecular mechanisms will be studied in future experiments.
