Kahalalide F preferentially induces cell death via oncosis in tumor cells.

2004 FEB 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Study show that Kahalalide F (KF) induces cell death via oncosis preferentially in human and prostate cancer cell lines.

According to a study from Spain, "Kahalalide F is a novel antitumor drug of marine origin under clinical investigation that showed a potent cytotoxic activity against a panel of human prostate and breast cancer cell lines, with IC50 ranging from 0.07 microm (PC3) to 0.28 microm (DU145, LNCaP, SKBR-3, BT474, MCF7).

"Importantly, nontumor human cells (MCF10A, HUVEC, HMEC-1, IMR90) were 5-40 times less sensitive to the drug (IC50 = 1.6-3.1 micro M). KF cytotoxicity did not correlate with the expression level of the multidrug resistance MDR1 and of the tyrosine kinase HER2/NEU, and only slightly by the antiapoptotic BCL-2 protein," wrote Y. Suarez and colleagues, University of Autonoma Madrid, CSIC.

"KF action was triggered rapidly by short pulse treatments (15 min caused 50% maximum cytotoxicity). Neither a general caspase inhibitor (Z-VAD-fmk) nor transcription or translation inhibitors (actinomycin D, cycloheximide) blocked KF action. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that KF induced neither cell-cycle arrest nor apoptotic hypodiploid peak. Using mitochondrial (JC-1)- and lysosomal (LysoTracker Green, Acridine Orange)-specific fluorophores, we detected loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and of lysosomal integrity following KF treatment," the researchers wrote.

"Confocal laser and ...