Traditional Herbal Formula Taeeumjowi-Tang (TJ001) Inhibits p53-Mutant Prostate Cancer Cells Growth by Activating AMPK-Dependent Pathway

Dysregulated lipid metabolism is a prominent feature of prostate cancers (PCas); several enzymes involved in lipid accumulation are highly expressed. Here, we elucidated efficacy of TJ001, a traditional herbal decoction, in inhibiting de novo lipogenesis. TJ001 had significant cytotoxicity against DU145 but not PC3 and LNCaP cells and, similarly, TJ001 markedly AMPK phosphorylation only in DU145 cells. This was accompanied by the downregulation of phosphorylated-acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase (ACC) expression and sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 (SREBP1) proteolytic cleavage, thereby inhibiting its role as a transcription factor to induce lipid biosynthesis. When Oil Red O staining was performed, it is reflected in the reduction of lipid droplets (LDs). TJ001 also induced G(1)/S cell cycle arrest via a cell cycle inhibitor (CKI) p21(WAF1/CIP1) upregulation. Although p53 proteins remained unchanged, both cyclin E and cyclin D1 were decreased. Moreover, TJ001 suppressed the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway. Generally, the prolonged G(1)/S phase arrest accompanies apoptosis, but TJ001 failed to work as a trigger apoptosis in DU145 cells. We showed that mutant p53 proteins were required for the survival of DU145 cells. In presence of TJ001, inhibition of endogenous mutant p53 by RNAi led to cell viability reduction and induction of the p-AMPK/AMPK ratio. In addition, it induced apoptotic cell death in DU145 cells. At the cellular level, induction of PARP, caspase-3, and caspase-9 cleavages was observed, and caspase-3 activity was increased in the p53 knockdown cells treated with TJ001. Taken together, we demonstrated that TJ001 inhibited cell growth in DU145 prostate cancer cells as indicated by blocking lipogenesis and induction in G(1)/S cell cycle arrest. In addition, we may provide an evidence that mutant p53 protein has potential role as an oncogenic action in DU145 cells. Collectively, the combination of mutant p53 targeting and TJ001 treatment resulted in decreased cell growth in DU145 cells.