Dietary palmitic acid promotes tumor growth and epithelial-mesenchymal transformation in prostate cancer

Abstract Background High-fat diet (HFD) is a major risk factor for prostate cancer (PCA). Palmitic acid (PA) is the main constituent of HFD, and the main end product of fatty acid synthase (FASN). However, the effect of dietary intake of PA on the occurrence and development of PCA is rarely reported. This study aims to explore the effect of PA on PCA in mice. Methods Twelve nude mice were divided into two groups, one group was fed with a high-PA diet and the other group was fed with a normal control (NC) diet. Twelve c-MycT mice were treated the same as the nude mice. The following analyses were performed: measuring tumor weight and size, H&E staining, immunohistochemical (IHC) staining and western blot assay detecting the expression of Ki67, E-cadherin, N-cadherin, TGF-β1, as well as searching and analyzing of the gene data from TCGA database. Results FASN is positively related to the malignancy of PCA. PA diet stimulated the progression of PCA, induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and activated transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) signal both in nude mice and c-MycT mice. The expression levels of CD36 were positively associated with the expression of TGF-β1, and these two genes were related to poor prognosis of patients with PCA. Conclusion PA promotes PCA formation and activates TGF-β1 signal, inducing EMT in PCA. TGF-β1 is a potential target for the treatment of PCA.