Spermine synthesis inhibitor blocks 25-hydroxycholesterol-induced- apoptosis via SREBP2 upregulation in DLD-1 cell spheroids

The oxysterol 25-hydroxycholesterol (25-HC) has diverse physiological activities, including the ability to inhibit anchorage-independent growth of colorectal cancer cells. Here, we found that a polyamine synthesis inhibitor, DFMO, prevented 25-HC-induced apoptosis in non-anchored colorectal cancer DLD-1 cells. Additionally, we found that the spermine synthesis inhibitor APCHA also inhibited 25-HC-induced apoptosis in DLD-1 spheroids. Inhibiting the maturation of SREBP2, a critical regulator of cholesterol synthesis, reversed the effects of APCHA. SREBP2 knockdown also abolished the ability of APCHA to counteract 25-HC activity. Furthermore, APCHA induced SREBP2 maturation and upregulated its transcriptional activity, indicating that altered polyamine metabolism can increase SREBP2 activity and block 25-HC-induced apoptosis in spheroids. These results suggest that crosstalk between polyamine metabolism and cholesterol synthetic pathways via SREBP2 governs the proliferative and malignant properties of colorectal cancer cells.