In the Compendium of Materia Medica, seahorse (Hippocampus) is considered effective for the reinforcement of kidney and men's health. However, the role of seahorse on human health lacks scientific evidence. Therefore, we evaluated the effect of seahorse on human prostate cancer using various in vitro methods and identified bioactive compound. Seahorse lipid extract (SHL) decreased androgen receptor (AR) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) expression in dihydrotestosterone (DHT)-induced LNCaP cells of prostate cancer. Gas Chromatography (GC)-mass spectrometry data showed that brassicasterol was present in H. abdominalis. Brassicasterol downregulated the expression of AR and PSA in DHT-induced LNCaP cells. Brassicasterol induced apoptosis accompanied by sub-G1 phase arrest and inhibited migration in LNCaP cells. We confirmed that AKT and AR mediated the anti-cancer effect of brassicasterol using siRNA transfection. Brassicasterol exerts an anti-cancer effect in AR-independent cancer as well as in AR-dependent cells by AKT inhibiting. Our findings suggest that SHL has the anticancer potential via inhibition of AR and demonstrated that brassicasterol from H. abdominalis exerted an anti-cancer effect by dual-targeting AKT and AR signaling in prostate cancer.
Keywords: AKT; AR; Hippocampus abdominalis; brassicasterol; prostate cancer; seahorse.