Glycerol-mediated lysosomal associated proteins as a novel anticancer theory in colon cancer cell line

Background: Colon cancer begins in the large intestine (colon) and is aggressive due to late diagnosis, so there is a poor prognosis and higher mortality rates, as reported. Colon cancer has become a vital research area requiring more investigation of cellular signaling in its initiation and development. Aim: The study aimed to investigate the biological effects of Glycerol in cell proliferation and the possible regulation of cellular signaling by exogenous treatment of Glycerol in colon cancer cells compared with colon mucosal epithelial cells. Materials and Methods: The influence of Glycerol on cell viability rate was monitored by inverted microscopy, and the number of living cells was assessed upon incubation with different concentrations of Glycerol. We further inspected the apoptotic rate of CaCo-2 cells by using Annexin-V staining by flow cytometry. Moreover, we achieved the expression profile of lysosomal-associated proteins, LAMP-1 and LAMP-2, in treated cells using qRT-PCR and flow cytometry. Finally, we monitored the released pro-inflammatory cytokines and anti-inflammatory in response to Glycerol treatment using ELISA assay. Results: Our results showed that Glycerol treatment could prevent cancer cell proliferation without any detectable cytotoxic occurrence in the normal cells. Interestingly, we evidenced that Glycerol targets and breaks down the lysosomal activities by inhibiting the expression profile of both LAMP-1 and LAMP-2. Furthermore, Glycerol treatment successfully adjusted the production of IL-6 and IL-8 as pro-inflammatory cytokines while stimulating the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines, IL-4 and IL-10, in a time-dependent manner. Conclusion: These data provide evidence for the anti-cancer properties of Glycerol in colon cancer cells via targeting lysosomal activities and disturbance of the degradation events in colon cancer cells.