Dichloroacetate, 2-Deoxyglucose and a Hydroalcoholic Extract from the Skin of the Fruit of Solanum melongena (Aubergine) Induce Selective Anticancer Activity against Melanoma Cells

Prognosis of melanoma patients with metastatic disease is very poor. For example, over 95% of melanoma patients with three or more sites of metastatic disease die within 1 year. Treatment failure usually occurs because the drugs used for the treatment of these patients have a low capacity to kill melanoma cells selectively. By using human UACC-62 melanoma cells and human VH-10 skin non-malignant cells, here we show that the glycolysis inhibitors dichloroacetate and 2-deoxyglucose, and an extract from the skin of the fruit of Solanum melongena (aubergine, eggplant), induce selective killing of melanoma cells. This selective anticancer activity was higher than that of the anticancer drugs etoposide, 5-fluorouracil, oxaliplatin and hydroxyurea. The glycolysis inhibitor 3-bromopyruvate did not show selective cytotoxicity towards the cancer cell line. We also report that UACC-62 melanoma cells have higher glycolytic rates (glucose consumption and lactate production) than VH-10 skin non-malignant cells, which may help explain the selective cytotoxicity of the glycolysis inhibitors dichloroacetate and 2-deoxyglucose towards the melanoma cell line. Since 2-deoxyglucose and dichloroacetate have already entered clinical trials for the treatment of specific cancers, our results support their possible advancement into clinical trials for the treatment melanoma patients with metastatic disease. The selective anticancer activity of the extract from the aubergine skin warrants further investigation.