Possibility of paclitaxel to induce the stemness-related characteristics of prostate cancer cells

Abstract

Background. Drug resistance poses a crucial problem in the treatment of prostate cancer. Recent studies have shown that chemotherapy agents may cause cancer cells to acquire stem cell-like properties, resulting in drug resistance and, eventually, treatment failure. Objectives. To evaluate whether long-term paclitaxel exposure causes an increase in the stem cell-like properties of prostate cancer cells. Materials and methods. Paclitaxel-resistant PC-3 cells were generated from parental PC-3 cells by treating them with increasing concentrations of paclitaxel. The expression levels of the stem cell markers NANOG, C-MYC, CD44, and ABCG2 were evaluated using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). A sphere formation assay was performed to test the potential of the cells to behave as stem cells, and a wound healing assay was carried out to evaluate migration ability of the cells. Results. The expression levels of C-MYC and NANOG were significantly higher in paclitaxel-resistant PC-3 cells compared to the parental PC-3 cells. However, there was no significant increase in the expression of CD44 or ABCG2. In addition, the sphere-forming capacity and migration ability of resistant PC-3 cells were increased. Conclusions. The results of the current study indicate that paclitaxel exposure may increase the stem cell-like properties of PC-3 prostate cancer cells.