Sodium Butyrate Inhibits the Expression of Thymidylate Synthase and Induces Cell Death in Colorectal Cancer Cells

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 25; no. 3; p. 1572
• Main Authors: Kim, Nayeon, Yang, Changwon
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01.02.2024
• Subjects: Apoptosis; Biochemistry; Butyric Acid - pharmacology; Cancer; Cell cycle; Cell death; Cell growth; Chemotherapy; Colorectal cancer; Colorectal Neoplasms - drug therapy; Colorectal Neoplasms - metabolism; Drug dosages; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; Esters; Fatty acids; Fluorouracil - pharmacology; Fluorouracil - therapeutic use; Humans; Investigations; Kinases; Metabolism; Metabolites; Proteins; short-chain fatty acids; Sodium; sodium butyrate; thymidylate synthase; Thymidylate Synthase - genetics; Thymidylate Synthase - metabolism; apoptosis; thymidylate synthase; colorectal cancer; sodium butyrate; short-chain fatty acids
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms25031572

The most commonly used chemotherapy for colorectal cancer (CRC) is the application of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). Inhibition of thymidylate synthase (TYMS) expression appears to be a promising strategy to overcome the decreased sensitivity to 5-FU caused by high expression of TYMS, which can be induced by 5-FU treatment. Several compounds have been shown to potentially inhibit the expression of TYMS, but it is unclear whether short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which are naturally produced by bacteria in the human intestine, can regulate the expression of TYMS. Sodium butyrate (NaB) is the most widely known SCFA for its beneficial effects. Therefore, we investigated the enhancing effects on inhibition of cell viability and induction of apoptosis after co-treatment of NaB with 5-FU in two CRC cell lines, HCT116 and LoVo. This study suggests that the effect of NaB in improving therapeutic sensitivity to 5-FU in CRC cells may result from a mechanism that strongly inhibits the expression of TYMS. This study also shows that NaB inhibits the migration of CRC cells and can cause cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase. These results suggest that NaB could be developed as a potential therapeutic adjuvant to improve the therapeutic effect of 5-FU in CRC.