Induction of Apoptosis in the Human Prostate Cancer Cell Line DU-145 by a Novel Micronutrient Formulation

Prostate cancer, the most frequently diagnosed cancer in men, primarily affects males aged 55 and older and is more common in African Americans than Caucasians. Once the cancer has metastasized, current treatments are generally ineffective. We have identified a novel anti-neoplastic agent, a spe-cifically designed nutrient mixture (NM), containing ascorbic acid, lysine, proline and green tea ex-tract that demonstrates a broad spectrum of anti-tumor activity against a number of human cancer cell lines. In a previous study NM significantly inhibited prostate tumor in nude mice. In this study, we tested whether the formulation exerts its anti-tumor effects through induction of apoptosis on prostate cancer cell line DU-145. The effect of the nutrient mixture (NM) on cell growth inhibition in DU-145 cells was examined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazole-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Morphological changes and caspase activation associated with apoptosis induction was checked by H&E staining and Live Green Caspase assay, respectively. The NM was found to be slightly toxic to DU-145 cells at 100 μg/ml, but significantly toxic at 500 μg/ml and 1000 μg/ml. Percentage of cells undergoing apoptosis also increased from 6 % at 100 μg/ml to 49 % at 500 μg/ml and 83 % at 1000 μg/ml, with greater number of cells showing morphological changes suc