Zinc deficiency reduces paclitaxel efficacy in LNCaP prostate cancer cells

Chemotherapeutics used to treat prostate cancer are often from a class of drugs that target microtubule networks, such as paclitaxel. A previous report indicated that supplemental zinc sensitized prostate cancer cells to paclitaxel-induced apoptosis, suggesting that increased zinc levels might enhance paclitaxel efficacy. The effect of zinc deficiency on paclitaxel activity is not known though, so we tested this in two prostate cancer cell lines maintained under moderately zinc-deficient conditions. LNCaP and PC3 cell lines were used as models of early and late-stage prostate cancer, respectively. Cells cultured in reduced zinc levels did not demonstrate altered cell viability, growth rates, or intracellular zinc content. Additionally, zinc deficiency alone had no apparent effect on cell cycle kinetics or apoptosis levels. However, the IC50 for paclitaxel-induced cell cycle arrest increased in LNCaP cells from zinc-deficient compared to zinc-replete conditions. Consequently, paclitaxel-induced apoptosis was reduced in LNCaP cells from zinc-deficient compared to zinc-replete conditions. In PC3 cells, the effects of paclitaxel were independent of zinc status. Reduced extracellular zinc levels were shown to affect paclitaxel activity in a prostate cancer cell line. Given the prevalence of zinc deficiency, determining how chemotherapeutic action is modulated by zinc adequacy may have clinical importance.