A strategy to reduce the secondary effects of anti-cancer agents is to potentiate the therapeutic effect by their combination. A combination of vitamin K3 (VK3) and ascorbic acid (AA) exhibited an anti-cancer synergistic effect, associated with extracellular production of H(2)O(2) that promoted cell death.The redox-silent vitamin E analogue alpha-tocopheryl succinate (alpha-TOS) was used in combination with VK3 and AA to evaluate their effect on prostate cancer cells.Prostate cancer cells were sensitive to alpha-TOS and VK3 treatment, but resistant to AA upto 3.2 mM. When combined, a synergistic effect was found for VK3-AA, whereas alpha-TOS-VK3 and alpha-TOS-AA combination showed an antagonist and additive effect, respectively. However, sub-lethal doses of AA-VK3 combination combined with a sub-toxic dose of alpha-TOS showed to induce efficient cell death that resembles autoschizis. Associated with this cell demise, lipid peroxidation, DNA damage, cytoskeleton alteration, lysosomal-mitochondrial perturbation, and release of cytochrome c without caspase activation were observed. Inhibition of lysosomal proteases did not attenuate cell death induced by the combined agents. Furthermore, cell deaths by apoptosis and autoschizis were detected.These finding support the emerging idea that synergistic combinations of some agents can overcome toxicity and other side-effects associated with high doses of single drugs creating the opportunity for therapeutically relevant selectivity.

alpha-Tocopheryl succinate promotes selective cell death induced by vitamin K3 in combination with ascorbate / Tomasetti, Marco; Strafella, Elisabetta; Staffolani, Sara; Santarelli, Lory; J., Neuzil; R., Guerrieri. - In: BRITISH JOURNAL OF CANCER. - ISSN 0007-0920. - 102:(2010), pp. 1224-1234. [10.1038/sj.bjc.6605617]

alpha-Tocopheryl succinate promotes selective cell death induced by vitamin K3 in combination with ascorbate.

TOMASETTI, Marco;STRAFELLA, ELISABETTA;STAFFOLANI, SARA;SANTARELLI, Lory;
2010-01-01

Abstract

A strategy to reduce the secondary effects of anti-cancer agents is to potentiate the therapeutic effect by their combination. A combination of vitamin K3 (VK3) and ascorbic acid (AA) exhibited an anti-cancer synergistic effect, associated with extracellular production of H(2)O(2) that promoted cell death.The redox-silent vitamin E analogue alpha-tocopheryl succinate (alpha-TOS) was used in combination with VK3 and AA to evaluate their effect on prostate cancer cells.Prostate cancer cells were sensitive to alpha-TOS and VK3 treatment, but resistant to AA upto 3.2 mM. When combined, a synergistic effect was found for VK3-AA, whereas alpha-TOS-VK3 and alpha-TOS-AA combination showed an antagonist and additive effect, respectively. However, sub-lethal doses of AA-VK3 combination combined with a sub-toxic dose of alpha-TOS showed to induce efficient cell death that resembles autoschizis. Associated with this cell demise, lipid peroxidation, DNA damage, cytoskeleton alteration, lysosomal-mitochondrial perturbation, and release of cytochrome c without caspase activation were observed. Inhibition of lysosomal proteases did not attenuate cell death induced by the combined agents. Furthermore, cell deaths by apoptosis and autoschizis were detected.These finding support the emerging idea that synergistic combinations of some agents can overcome toxicity and other side-effects associated with high doses of single drugs creating the opportunity for therapeutically relevant selectivity.
2010
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11566/56334
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