Inhibition of the glycolytic pathway is a critical strategy in anticancer therapy because of the role of aerobic glycolysis in cancer cells. The glycolytic inhibitor 2-Deoxy-d-glucose (2-DG) has shown potential in combination with other anticancer agents. Buforin IIb is an effective antimicrobial peptide (AMP) with broad-spectrum anticancer activity and selectivity. The efficacy of combination treatment with 2-DG and buforin IIb in prostate cancer remains unknown. Here, we tested the efficacy of buforin IIb as a mitochondria-targeting AMP in the androgen-independent human prostate cancer cell line DU145. Combining 2-DG with buforin IIb had a synergistic toxic effect on DU145 cells and mouse xenograft tumors. Combination treatment with 2-DG and buforin IIb caused stronger proliferation inhibition, greater G1 cell cycle arrest, and higher apoptosis than either treatment alone. Combination treatment dramatically decreased L-lactate production and intracellular ATP levels, indicating severe inhibition of glycolysis and ATP production. Flow cytometry and confocal laser scanning microscopy results indicate that 2-DG may increase buforin IIb uptake by DU145 cells, thereby increasing the mitochondria-targeting capacity of buforin IIb. This may partly explain the effect of combination treatment on enhancing buforin IIb-induced apoptosis. Consistently, 2-DG increased mitochondrial dysfunction and upregulated Bax/Bcl-2, promoting cytochrome c release to initiate procaspase 3 cleavage induced by buforin IIb. These results suggest that 2-DG sensitizes prostate cancer DU145 cells to buforin IIb. Moreover, combination treatment caused minimal hemolysis and cytotoxicity to normal WPMY-1 cells. Collectively, the current study demonstrates that dual targeting of glycolysis and mitochondria by 2-DG and buforin IIb may be an effective anticancer strategy for the treatment of some advanced prostate cancer.
Keywords: 2-Deoxy-d-glucose; buforin IIb; glycolysis; mitochondria; prostate cancer.