Ceragenin CSA-13 induces cell cycle arrest and antiproliferative effects in wild-type and p53 null mutant HCT116 colon cancer cells

Anticancer Drugs. 2013 Sep;24(8):826-34. doi: 10.1097/CAD.0b013e3283634dd0.

Abstract

Antimicrobial peptides of the cathelicidin family play a central role in the host defense system. Our group has reported previously that cathelicidin-related or cathelicidin-modified antimicrobial peptides, such as FF/CAP-18, have antiproliferative effects on the squamous cell carcinoma cell line SAS-H1 and colon cancer-derived cell line HCT116. Ceragenin CSA-13, which mimics the hydrophobic and cationic morphology of cathelicidin-related peptides, was developed to reduce synthetic costs and resolve stability issues in the presence of proteases. In this study, we evaluated the antiproliferative effect of CSA-13 on HCT116 cells. We evaluated the effects of CSA-13 in HCT116 cells by measuring cell growth, detecting apoptosis, analyzing the cell cycle, and examining mitochondrial membrane depolarization. Treatment with CSA-13 suppressed HCT116 cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner, increasing the incidence of apoptosis detected by the binding of Annexin V. Furthermore, cell cycle analysis showed that the cell cycle of CSA-13-treated wild-type and p53 null mutant HCT116 cells was arrested at the G1/S phase, indicating that CSA-13 affects the cell cycle by a p53-independent pathway. Our study showed that CSA-13 exerts an antiproliferative effect in cancer cells similar to that of FF/CAP-18, suggesting that membrane-permeabilizing capability is the common underlying mechanism for anticancer and antimicrobial effects of CSA-13 and anitimicrobial peptides.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology*
  • Apoptosis / drug effects
  • Caspases / metabolism
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects*
  • Colonic Neoplasms / genetics
  • Colonic Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Colonic Neoplasms / pathology*
  • DNA Fragmentation
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Enzyme Activation
  • G1 Phase Cell Cycle Checkpoints / drug effects*
  • HCT116 Cells
  • Humans
  • Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial / drug effects
  • Mutation*
  • Steroids / pharmacology*
  • Time Factors
  • Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / genetics*

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Steroids
  • TP53 protein, human
  • Tumor Suppressor Protein p53
  • ceragenin CSA-13
  • Caspases