Effects of Thymoquinone on IL-6 Gene Expression and Some Cellular Signaling Pathways in Prostate Cancer PC3 Cells

Thymoquinone (TQ), a bioactive compound, has many pharmacological actions especially anticancer effects. Prostate cancer (PC) is one of the most common malignancies among males in the world.
The current study aimed at evaluating the effects of TQ treatment on interleukin-6 (IL-6) expression, IL-6 secretion, cell viability, phosphorylated extracellular signal–regulated kinases (pERK1/2), phosphorylated AKT (pAKT), and phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (pSTAT3) signaling pathways in human prostate cancer PC3 cells.
PC3 cells were cultured in different concentrations of TQ for 48 hours. Cell viability, expression, and secretion of IL-6 were assessed by MTT assay, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-q PCR) analysis, and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique, respectively. The changes of pERK1/2, pAKT, and pSTAT3 were determined using Western blot procedure.
Treatment with TQ caused the reduction of viability (inhibitory concentration [IC50] = 45 µM) and survival in PC3 cells. RT-q PCR had a significant reduction (P The obtained results suggested that TQ can effectively reduce IL-6 signaling pathways (pSTAT3, pAKT, and pERK1/2). Also, TQ can decrease IL-6 gene expression, which leads to the reduction of cell proliferation and viability. Therefore, TQ may be beneficial to treat prostate cancer.