Key result
Indole-3-carbinol inhibited KV1.3 currents in chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells (IC50 = 5.2 μM), but this plasma membrane inhibition was not sufficient to induce CLL cell death.
Why the study?
Potassium voltage-gated channels are attractive drug targets for cancer treatment, and KV1.3 current amplitude is greater in CLL cells from refractory patients compared to untreated patients.
Indole-3-carbinol inhibits plasma membrane KV1.3 potassium channels in chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells, though this inhibition alone is insufficient to induce cell death.
Potassium voltage-gated channels are attractive drug targets for cancer treatment. In this report, we show that K V 1.3 current amplitude is greater in CLL cells from refractory patients compared to CLL cells from untreated patients, further supporting a role for Kv1.3 channel as a target for refractory CLL disease. Indole-3 carbinol (I3C) is a clinically tested natural product found in edible Brassica plants. Here we show that I3C inhibits K V 1.3 currents in transfected HEK293 (43.9 ± 7.6 %; 50 μM I3C), Burkitt´s lymphoma BL60.2 (52.2 ± 5.2 %; 10 μM) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) (57.7% ± 5.2; 10 μM) cells. I3C inhibition was concentration-dependent in HEK293 (IC 50 = 54 μM; n H = 3.2), BL60.2 (IC 50 = 1.06 μM; n H = 0.53) and CLL (IC 50 = 5.2 μM; n H = 0.95) cells, and the effect on K V 1.3 was produced in a voltage-, time- and use-dependent manner, consistent with an open state blockade mechanism. I3C also inhibited K V 11.1 currents, but failed to inhibit other K V channels and K ca 3.1. Interestingly I3C did not induce mitochondrial depolarization of CLL cells, suggesting that I3C only targets plasma, but not mitochondria, Kv1.3 channels. I3C and derivatives 6-methyl-I3C and 3,3´-diindolylmethane, but no other indoles, that we previously showed induced apoptosis in Burkitt´s and CLL cells, also efficiently inhibited K V 1.3 currents. However, I3C-mediated K V 1.3 currents inhibition was observed in CLL cells irrespective of their sensitivity to I3C-induced cell death, thus indicating that plasma membrane K V 1.3 inhibition is not sufficient to induce CLL cell death.
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Baena-Nuevo et al. (2025) studied Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Indole-3-carbinol (I3C) was evaluated on KV1.3 current inhibition. Indole-3-carbinol inhibited KV1.3 currents in chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells (IC50 = 5.2 μM), but this plasma membrane inhibition was not sufficient to induce CLL cell death.
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