Unlocking the Potential of <i>Gracilaria chilensis</i> Against Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second leading cause of cancer-related death among men in most Western countries. Current therapies for PCa are limited, often ineffective, and associated with significant side effects. As a result, there is a growing interest in exploring new therapeutic agents, particu...
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MDPI AG
2025-07-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/15/2352 |
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| author | Verónica Torres-Estay Lorena Azocar Camila Schmidt Macarena Aguilera-Olguín Catalina Ramírez-Santelices Emilia Flores-Faúndez Paula Sotomayor Nancy Solis Daniel Cabrera Loretto Contreras-Porcia Francisca C. Bronfman Alejandro S. Godoy |
| author_facet | Verónica Torres-Estay Lorena Azocar Camila Schmidt Macarena Aguilera-Olguín Catalina Ramírez-Santelices Emilia Flores-Faúndez Paula Sotomayor Nancy Solis Daniel Cabrera Loretto Contreras-Porcia Francisca C. Bronfman Alejandro S. Godoy |
| author_sort | Verónica Torres-Estay |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second leading cause of cancer-related death among men in most Western countries. Current therapies for PCa are limited, often ineffective, and associated with significant side effects. As a result, there is a growing interest in exploring new therapeutic agents, particularly from the polyphyletic group of algae, which offers a promising source of compounds with anticancer properties. Our research group has focused on investigating the effects of a novel oleoresin from <i>Gracilaria chilensis</i>, known as Gracilex<sup>®</sup>, as a potential therapeutic agent against PCa using both in vitro and in vivo models. Our findings indicate that Gracilex<sup>®</sup> exhibits a time- and dose-dependent inhibitory effect on cell survival in LNCaP and PC-3 PCa, reducing viability by over 50% and inducing apoptosis, as evidenced by a significant increase in activated caspase-3 expression in both cell lines. Moreover, Gracilex<sup>®</sup> significantly reduces the proliferation rate of both LNCaP and PC-3 prostate cancer cell lines, as evidenced by a marked decrease in the growth curve slope (<i>p</i> = 0.0034 for LNCaP; <i>p</i> < 0.0001 for PC-3) and a 40–50% reduction in the proportion of Ki-67-positive PCa cells. In addition, Gracilex<sup>®</sup> significantly reduces in vitro cell migration and invasion in LNCaP and PC-3 cell lines. Lastly, Gracilex<sup>®</sup> inhibits tumor growth in an in vivo xenograft model, an effect that correlates with the reduced PCa cell proliferation observed in tumor tissue sections. Collectively, our data strongly support the broad antitumoral effects of Gracilex<sup>®</sup> on PCa cells in vitro and in vivo. These findings advance our understanding of its potential therapeutic role in PCa and highlight the relevance of further investigating algae-derived compounds for cancer treatment. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-953d79b2cc344feca335629bcec12db7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2223-7747 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj-art-953d79b2cc344feca335629bcec12db72025-08-20T04:00:50ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472025-07-011415235210.3390/plants14152352Unlocking the Potential of <i>Gracilaria chilensis</i> Against Prostate CancerVerónica Torres-Estay0Lorena Azocar1Camila Schmidt2Macarena Aguilera-Olguín3Catalina Ramírez-Santelices4Emilia Flores-Faúndez5Paula Sotomayor6Nancy Solis7Daniel Cabrera8Loretto Contreras-Porcia9Francisca C. Bronfman10Alejandro S. Godoy11Escuela de Química y Farmacia, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad San Sebastián, Santiago 7510157, ChileCentro de Biología Celular y Biomedicina (CEBICEM), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad San Sebastián, Santiago 8580704, ChileFacultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 8331150, ChileCentro de Biología Celular y Biomedicina (CEBICEM), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad San Sebastián, Santiago 8580704, ChileCentro de Biología Celular y Biomedicina (CEBICEM), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad San Sebastián, Santiago 8580704, ChileCentro de Biología Celular y Biomedicina (CEBICEM), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad San Sebastián, Santiago 8580704, ChileCentro de Prevención y Control de Cáncer (CECAN), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 7810000, ChileDepartamento de Gastroenterología, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago 8331150, ChileCentro de Investigación e Innovación Biomédica (CiiB), Universidad de los Andes, Santiago 7550000, ChileCentro de Investigación Marina Quintay (CIMARQ), Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Universidad Andres Bello, Santiago 8370251, ChileInstituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Andrés Bello, Santiago 8370186, ChileCentro de Biología Celular y Biomedicina (CEBICEM), Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad San Sebastián, Santiago 8580704, ChileProstate cancer (PCa) is the second leading cause of cancer-related death among men in most Western countries. Current therapies for PCa are limited, often ineffective, and associated with significant side effects. As a result, there is a growing interest in exploring new therapeutic agents, particularly from the polyphyletic group of algae, which offers a promising source of compounds with anticancer properties. Our research group has focused on investigating the effects of a novel oleoresin from <i>Gracilaria chilensis</i>, known as Gracilex<sup>®</sup>, as a potential therapeutic agent against PCa using both in vitro and in vivo models. Our findings indicate that Gracilex<sup>®</sup> exhibits a time- and dose-dependent inhibitory effect on cell survival in LNCaP and PC-3 PCa, reducing viability by over 50% and inducing apoptosis, as evidenced by a significant increase in activated caspase-3 expression in both cell lines. Moreover, Gracilex<sup>®</sup> significantly reduces the proliferation rate of both LNCaP and PC-3 prostate cancer cell lines, as evidenced by a marked decrease in the growth curve slope (<i>p</i> = 0.0034 for LNCaP; <i>p</i> < 0.0001 for PC-3) and a 40–50% reduction in the proportion of Ki-67-positive PCa cells. In addition, Gracilex<sup>®</sup> significantly reduces in vitro cell migration and invasion in LNCaP and PC-3 cell lines. Lastly, Gracilex<sup>®</sup> inhibits tumor growth in an in vivo xenograft model, an effect that correlates with the reduced PCa cell proliferation observed in tumor tissue sections. Collectively, our data strongly support the broad antitumoral effects of Gracilex<sup>®</sup> on PCa cells in vitro and in vivo. These findings advance our understanding of its potential therapeutic role in PCa and highlight the relevance of further investigating algae-derived compounds for cancer treatment.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/15/2352cancerprostate canceroleoresinGracilex<sup>®</sup>seaweed |
| spellingShingle | Verónica Torres-Estay Lorena Azocar Camila Schmidt Macarena Aguilera-Olguín Catalina Ramírez-Santelices Emilia Flores-Faúndez Paula Sotomayor Nancy Solis Daniel Cabrera Loretto Contreras-Porcia Francisca C. Bronfman Alejandro S. Godoy Unlocking the Potential of <i>Gracilaria chilensis</i> Against Prostate Cancer Plants cancer prostate cancer oleoresin Gracilex<sup>®</sup> seaweed |
| title | Unlocking the Potential of <i>Gracilaria chilensis</i> Against Prostate Cancer |
| title_full | Unlocking the Potential of <i>Gracilaria chilensis</i> Against Prostate Cancer |
| title_fullStr | Unlocking the Potential of <i>Gracilaria chilensis</i> Against Prostate Cancer |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unlocking the Potential of <i>Gracilaria chilensis</i> Against Prostate Cancer |
| title_short | Unlocking the Potential of <i>Gracilaria chilensis</i> Against Prostate Cancer |
| title_sort | unlocking the potential of i gracilaria chilensis i against prostate cancer |
| topic | cancer prostate cancer oleoresin Gracilex<sup>®</sup> seaweed |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/15/2352 |
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