Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

6-Methyl-1-(3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-1H-pyrazolo[4,3-c]pyridin-4(5H)-one (FMPPP) exhibits anti-proliferative effect on prostate cancer via autophagy induction and mTOR/p70S6K inhibition

Qingbin Cui¹, Xiaozhu Yu²

¹Department of Surgery, Nanjing University of Science and Technology Hospital, Nanjing-210014, China; ²Department of Internal Medicine, Nanjing University of Science and Technology Hospital, Nanjing-210014, China.

For correspondence:- Xiaozhu Yu Email: simonarapposelliap@gmail.com

Accepted: 26 February 2021 Published: 31 March 2021

Citation: Cui Q, Yu X. 6-Methyl-1-(3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-1H-pyrazolo[4,3-c]pyridin-4(5H)-one (FMPPP) exhibits anti-proliferative effect on prostate cancer via autophagy induction and mTOR/p70S6K inhibition. Trop J Pharm Res 2021; 20(3):453-458 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v20i3.2

© 2021 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate 6-methyl-1-(3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-1H-pyrazolo[4,3-c]pyridin-4(5H)-one (FMPPP) as anti-proliferative agent against prostate cancers.

Methods: The FMPPP-mediated changes in cell proliferation were measured using cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8). Flow cytometry and propidium iodide staining were used for cellular DNA content determination. Proteins expression in cells was probed by western blotting assay.

Results: A significant (p < 0.05) dose-dependent suppression of DU145 and PC 3 cell proliferation was observed following FMPPP treatment. FMPPP treatment at 20 µM raised DU145 cell fraction to 75.08 ± 4.87 % in G1 phase when compared to 48.32 ± 3.44 % for control. The population of PC 3 cells in G1-phase reached to 72.78 ± 5.21 % on treatment with 20 µM FMPPP compared to 49.65 ± 4.62 % in control. The FMPPP treatment of DU145 and PC?3 cells elevated LC3-II expression and suppressed SQSTM1/p62 expression. In FMPPP-treated DU145 and PC?3 cells, p-ERK1/2 level was promoted whereas mTOR and p70S6K phosphorylation significantly decreased. Exposure to U0126 (ERK pathway inhibitor) reduced FMPPP-induced increase of LC3-II expression and promotion of p-ERK1/2 level in DU145 and PC?3 cells.

Conclusion: FMPPP exhibits anti-proliferative effect by increasing autophagy in prostate cancer cells. The cytotoxicity of FMPPP involves elevation of ERK1/2 phosphorylation and targeting mTOR pathway in DU145 and PC?3 cells. Therefore, FMPPP may be beneficial for the treatment of prostate cancer in patients.

Keywords: Prostate cancer, Phosphorylation, Drug development, Autophagy