Increased expression of mitochondrial glycerophosphate dehydrogenase and antioxidant enzymes in prostate cancer cell lines/cancer

The involvement of mitochondrial glycerophosphate dehydrogenase (mGPDH) has previously been established in the production of ROS in prostate cancer cell lines (LNCaP, DU145, PC3 and CL1). The current study demonstrates that the mRNA level of mGPDH in prostate cancer cells is 3.3-8.9-fold higher compared to the normal prostate epithelial cell line, PNT1A. This is consistent with the enzymatic activity and protein level of mGPDH. However, cytochrome c oxidase (COX) activity is 2.9-3.2-fold down-regulated in androgen-independent prostate cancer cell lines. The level of antioxidant enzymes, catalase, MnSOD and CuZnSOD are up-regulated in prostate cancer cell lines. Furthermore, it was observed that the activity of mGPDH is significantly higher in liver tissues from all mice with cancer compared to liver tissues from control mice. These data suggest that the up-regulation of mGPDH, due to a highly glycolytic environment, contributes to the overall increase in ROS generation and may result in the progression of the cancer.