Introduction: Although carbon nanospheres (CNPs) are promising nanomaterials in cancer treatment, how they affect prostate cancer (PCa) remains unclear.
Methods: In this study, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Raman spectroscopy were used to confirm the successful synthesis of CNPs. CCK-8, flow cytometry, Transwell, wound healing, Western blot and immunohistochemistry (IHC) assays were performed to evaluate the antitumor effect of CNPs toward the two kinds of prostate cancer cell lines PC3 and DU145.
Results: Our results showed that CNPs inhibited cell growth, invasion, and migration and induced apoptosis and autophagy in PCa cells. Multifactor detection of a single Akt  phosphorylation pathway and Western blot results suggested the suppression of 4E-BP1  in PCa cells after incubation with CNPs. The results from animal experiments also suggested the antitumor effect of CNPs and reduced 4E-BP1  expression in PCa tissue samples from BALB/c nude mice  administered a local subcutaneous injection of CNPs.
Keywords: carbon nanosphere, prostate cancer, antitumor, 4E-BP1