Cancer growth and proliferation rely on intracellular
iron availability. We studied the effects of
Deferiprone (
DFP), a
chelator of intracellular
iron, on three
prostate cancer cell lines: murine, metastatic TRAMP-C2; murine, non-metastatic Myc-CaP; and human, non-metastatic 22rv1. The effects of
DFP were evaluated at different cellular levels: cell culture proliferation and migration; metabolism of live cells (time-course multi-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy cell perfusion studies, with 1-13 C-
glucose, and extracellular flux analysis); and expression (Western blot) and activity of mitochondrial
aconitase, an
iron-dependent
enzyme. The 50% and 90% inhibitory concentrations (IC50 and IC90 , respectively) of
DFP for the three cell lines after 48 h of incubation were within the ranges 51-67 μM and 81-186 μM, respectively. Exposure to 100 μM
DFP led to: (i) significant inhibition of cell migration after different exposure times, ranging from 12 h (TRAMP-C2) to 48 h (22rv1), in agreement with the respective cell doubling times; (ii) significantly decreased
glucose consumption and
glucose-driven tricarboxylic acid cycle activity in metastatic TRAMP-C2 cells, during the first 10 h of exposure, and impaired cellular bioenergetics and membrane
phospholipid turnover after 23 h of exposure, consistent with a
cytostatic effect of
DFP. At this time point, all cell lines studied showed: (iii) significant decreases in mitochondrial functional parameters associated with the oxygen consumption rate, and (iv) significantly lower mitochondrial
aconitase expression and activity. Our results indicate the potential of
DFP to inhibit
prostate cancer proliferation at clinically relevant doses and plasma concentrations.