Gautam Sethi
National University of Singapore, Singapore
Title: Potential role of diosgenin in prostate cancer therapy
Biography
Biography: Gautam Sethi
Abstract
Constitutive activation of diverse transcription factors including that of NF-kB and STAT3 has been frequently encountered in prostate cancer (PCa) and closely linked with its proliferation and metastasis. Hence identification of novel agents that can target these oncogenic transcription factors has an enormous potential for PCa treatment. We tested diosgenin, a steroidal saponin obtained from a variety of plants including fenugreek (Trigonella foenum graecum), roots of wild yam (Dioscorea villosa), Solanum incanum and Solanum xanthocarpum for its ability to suppress NF-kB /STAT3 activation cascade in PCa cells and its efficacy to suppress tumor growth in transgenic mouse model. Overall, our data suggested that diosgenin exerted its anti-tumor and anti-metastatic effects through the suppression of diverse pro-inflammatory transcription factors in PCa.