The glycolysis-related AMPK/ULK signaling pathway mediates the inhibitory effect of adiponectin in prostate cancer cells.

Objective: Reduced adiponectin (ADPN) levels have been implicated in the pathogenesis of prostate cancer (PCa). The role of glycolysis in cancer development and treatment has attracted increasing attention. The present study aimed to elucidate its impact on PCa and to explore the mechanistic involvement of glycolysis.

Methods: An RM-1 cell xenograft model of Adpn-knockout mice was used to corroborate the effects of glycolysis, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling, and autophagy on tumor xenograft progression. The effect of ADPN on PCa cells was evaluated using the Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), lactate levels, and flow cytometry. The expression of glycolysis-related genes was detected using real-time RT-PCR in LNCaP and PC-3 cells after incubation with ADPN. Autophagic flux after ADPN treatment was quantified by chloroquine intervention and confocal analysis of mRFP-GFP-LC3. Alterations in the levels of adiponectin receptor 1 (AdipoR1), AMPK, Unc-51-like kinase 1 (ULK1), autophagy-related protein 7 (ATG7), p62, and microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 beta (LC3B) were assessed after incubation of LNCaP cells with ADPN.

Results: Proteomic analysis of xenograft tumors demonstrated significant upregulation of glycolysis in Adpn mice. Lower levels of ADPN accelerated tumor xenograft growth, diminished p-AMPKα/AMPKα ratio and LC3B II/I ratio, and elevated levels of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) within the tumor microenvironment. ADPN inhibited proliferation and glycolysis and potentiated apoptosis in both cell lines. Expression of glycolysis-related genes decreased after ADPN treatment. Autophagic flux was elevated, as evidenced by changes in autophagy-related proteins and confocal microscopy analysis of mRFP-GFP-LC3. It led to the suppression of p62 while inducing phosphorylation of AMPKα and upregulating AdipoR1, ULK1, ATG7, and LC3B II/I ratio.

Conclusion: ADPN inhibited the proliferation and progression of PCa cell-derived tumor xenografts by inhibiting glycolysis. Specifically, ADPN effectively inhibits glycolysis and activates the downstream AMPK/ULK1 signaling pathway to suppress proliferation of PCa cells.