Telomerase interference in combination with docetaxel therapy for maximal prostate cancer inhibition: In vitro data for a novel therapeutic approach
e14596 Background: Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) carries a median survival of 18 months with standard docetaxel based therapies. Telomerase interference (TI) is a promising novel therapeutic strategy that exploits the high telomerase activity in cancer cells by introducing a mutated telomerase RNA (MT-Ter) that encodes toxic telomeres and rapidly induces apoptosis. We investigated whether TI can be combined with docetaxel therapy to achieve greater growth inhibition in mCRPC. Methods: PC3 and DU145 mCRPC cell lines were treated with docetaxel in the presence of TI or vector control. TI was accomplished by concurrent lentiviral expression of 2 constructs: telomerase RNA with an altered template region (MT-Ter) and siRNA targeting wild-type telomerase RNA (anti-Ter siRNA). Telomere length and telomerase activity were assessed using RT-PCR and TRAP, respectively. Proliferation, apoptosis, and DNA damage were quantified using MTS, TUNEL, and 53bp1 staining, respectively. Statistical significance was calculated using a 2-sided t-test. Results: Docetaxel (10nM) induced 22% inhibition (p=0.01) of PC3 proliferation in the presence of vector control and 41% inhibition (p=0.001) in the presence of TI (results were similar in DU145 cells). This near-doubling of efficacy was attributable to an independent inhibitory effect (17% inhibition, p=0.04) from TI treatment alone, which occurred without change in bulk telomere length or telomerase activity. TI alone generated increased numbers of DNA damage foci (7/cell vs. 2/cell with vector control) while docetaxel alone did not generate significant increases in DNA damage. Both TI and docetaxel induced a marked increase in the rate of apoptosis. Conclusions: Docetaxel and TI each exerted a pro-apoptotic effect which, when combined, produced an additive inhibition of mCRPC proliferation. TI-mediated apoptosis ensued from DNA damage, consistent with its known telomeric-uncapping effect, while docetaxel-induced apoptosis was not associated with direct DNA damage, also consistent with known docetaxel mechanisms of action. These findings underscore the therapeutic promise of combining standard agents with TI to improve efficacy and reduce toxicity. No significant financial relationships to disclose.