Enhancing the Anticancer Efficacy of Decitabine via β-Hydroxybutyrate in Colorectal and Prostate Cancers Cell Lines

Authors

  • Sarah Khudhair Obayes Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Kufa, Najaf, Iraq https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3845-6607
  • Fadhil Abduljabbar Rizij Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Kufa, Najaf, Iraq
  • Rana Ayad Ghaleb Department of Anatomy and Histology, College of Medicine, University of Babylon, Babylon, Iraq https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5350-1499
  • Bassim Irahiem Mohammad Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, College of Medicine, University of Al-Qadisiyah, Diwaniyah, Iraq https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6732-5940
  • Najah Rayish Hadi Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, College of Medicine, University of Kufa, Najaf, Iraq

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54133/ajms.v11i2.3363

Keywords:

β-hydroxybutyrate, Colorectal cancer, Decitabine, DNMT1, Prostate cancer

Abstract

Background: Epigenetic targeting therapy, including histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors and DNA-methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) inhibitors, is a promising and attractive tool to treat advanced cancers, overcome drug resistance, and minimize adverse effects of traditional therapies. Objective: To investigate whether β-hydroxybutyrate enhanced the effectiveness of decitabine against colon cancer and enhanced the anti-cancer effect of decitabine against colon and prostate cancer cell lines. Methods: LS174T cells (colorectal cancer) and PC3 cells (prostate cancer) were seeded in a 96-well cell culture plate. Decitabine was used in six [100, 50, 25, 12.5, 6.25, & 3.125μg/ml] concentrations alone and combined with β-hydroxybutyrate, enhancing the effectiveness of decitabine against colon (2000μg/ml). After 48 hours of incubation, LS174T cells and PC3 cell viability were determined by MTT assay. DNMT1-enzyme level was measured using the DNMT1-ELISA kit. Results: For the LS174T cell line and PC3 cell line, the combination of decitabine plus β-hydroxybutyrate enhanced the effectiveness of decitabine against colon and showed a significant (p<0.05) decrease in viability percent for all concentrations compared to the control group. Also, the comparison between decitabine monotherapy and decitabine plus β-hydroxybutyrate enhanced the effectiveness of decitabine against colon and revealed a significant (p<0.05) difference in viability between the two groups. Finally, a significant (p<0.05) reduction in DNMT1 level was observed between monotherapy and combination therapy for all decitabine concentrations and for both cell lines. Conclusions: β-hydroxybutyrate enhanced the effectiveness of decitabine against colon and prostate cancers, suggesting that β-hydroxybutyrate may serve as a promising adjuvant to decrease decitabine therapeutic doses.

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Published

2026-11-15

How to Cite

Obayes , S. K., Rizij, F. A., Ghaleb, R. A., Mohammad, B. I., & Hadi, N. R. (2026). Enhancing the Anticancer Efficacy of Decitabine via β-Hydroxybutyrate in Colorectal and Prostate Cancers Cell Lines. Al-Rafidain Journal of Medical Sciences ( ISSN 2789-3219 ), 11(2), 333–337. https://doi.org/10.54133/ajms.v11i2.3363

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Original article

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