BACKGROUNDRecent studies have suggested that estrogens are involved in normal and abnormal prostate growth, though their exact role is still controversial. Oestrogens exert inhibitory and stimulatory effects on prostate gland, but the expression of oestrogen receptor-alpha (ERalpha) and oestrogen receptor-beta (ERbeta) in malignant prostate tissue remains unresolved. We determined ERalpha and ERbeta in prostate cancer and investigated the relationship between expression of ER and pathological features of prostate carcinoma.

METHODSThirty-two cases of prostate cancer, 12 cases of normal prostate tissue and 32 cases of benign prostate hyperplasia were analyzed for the expression of ERalpha and ERbeta using semiquantitative, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and the products sequenced.

RESULTSComparisons of the normal, hyperplastic and tumour prostate tissues indicated an overexpression of ERalpha in tumour specimens (P < 0.01). However, the expression of ERbeta significantly reduced in tumour tissues compared with normal and hyperplastic specimens (P < 0.01), suggesting that severe pathological features of prostate cancer were associated with lower ERbeta expression. Spearman analysis showed negative correlation between ERbeta expression and tumour stage, grade (-0.67, -0.43, respectively, both P < 0.05), and a positive correlation between ERalpha expression and tumour stage, grade (0.51, 0.57, respectively, both P < 0.01). Our analysis also showed that hormone refractory, prostate cancer, compared with hormone dependent, prostate cancer, displayed a decreased expression of ERbeta (P < 0.01) and an increased expression of ERalpha.

CONCLUSIONSERalpha and ERbeta may play important roles in the development of prostate cancer. The decrease in ERbeta expression is associated with higher Gleason grade tumours and prostate cancer with higher metastatic potential. The loss of ERbeta could be one of the key processes leading to uncontrolled growth of prostate epithelial cells.

Estrogen Receptor alpha ; genetics ; Estrogen Receptor beta ; genetics ; Humans ; Male ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; blood ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; blood ; metabolism ; pathology ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction

OBJECTIVEThe correlation were studied between testosterone 5-alpha-reductase II (SRD5A2) gene polymorphisms and prognosis factors.

METHODSV89L and A49T variants was identified with Mwo1 and Rsa1. The differences of V89L and A49T between cancer of prostate (CaP) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) were studied. In addition, we also researched the association of polymorphisms with age of onset, free prostate specific antigen (FPSA), total PSA (TPSA), FPSA/TPSA (F/T), Gleason score, and T stage in cancer group.

RESULTSWe found no differences of V89L and A49T polymorphisms between CaP and BPH. In CaP group the A49T variant was associated with lower age of onset (P = 0.03) and higher Gleason score (P = 0.015). There were no differences between VV and VL+LL polymorphisms with any of the characteristics studied. When the characteristics above were regarded as two-level discrete variable, there were no differences by A49T and V89Lvariants.

CONCLUSIONIn CaP group, the AT+TT genotype was perhaps associated with poor prognosis. VL+LL genotype has no relation with prognosis.

3-Oxo-5-alpha-Steroid 4-Dehydrogenase ; genetics ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Gene Frequency ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Genotype ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Prognosis ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; blood ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; genetics ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; blood ; genetics ; pathology

OBJECTIVETo investigate the effects of adenovirus-mediated PTEN and P27 on the invasion of PC-3 in vitro and angiogenesis, along with their synergy in the treatment of prostate cancer.

METHODSRecombinant adenovirus vectors of the human tumor suppressor genes PTEN and P27 were constructed. The replication-incompetent recombinant adenovirus was packaged and propagated in HEK293 cells. The viral titer was examined by plaque assay and the mRNA and protein expressions of PTEN and P27 in human prostate cancer cell line PC-3 infected with Ad-PTEN and Ad-P27 were determined by RT-PCR and Western blot respectively. The invasion of PC-3 cells in vitro was examined by Boyden chamber assay. MTT assay was used to testify the effect of supernatant from PC-3 infected with Ad-PTEN and Ad-P27 on the proliferation of endothelial cells ECV-304 and the CAM test was used to testify the effect of PTEN and P27 on angiogenesis. The difference between the combined therapy group and the single gene therapy group was also examined.

RESULTSThe viral titers of Ad-PTEN and Ad-P27 were 1.8 x 10(7) pfu/ml and 1.2 x 10(9) pfu/ml respectively. Adenovirus infection verified that the mRNA and protein expression of PTEN and P27 were steady in human PC-3 cells. The invasion in vitro of PC-3 cells was significantly inhibited by infection with Ad-PTEN or/and Ad-P27. CAM and MTT assays of ECV-304 confirmed that the supernatant from PC-3 cells infected with Ad-PTEN or/and Ad-P27 could inhibit the angiogenesis effectively. There was a significant difference between the combined therapy group and the single gene therapy group.

CONCLUSIONThe combined gene therapy of Ad-PTEN and Ad-P27 plays a synergistic role in inhibiting the invasiveness of PC-3 cells and angiogenesis.

Adenoviridae ; genetics ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p27 ; genetics ; Humans ; Male ; Neoplasm Invasiveness ; PTEN Phosphohydrolase ; genetics ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; blood supply ; pathology ; Transfection

PURPOSE: Enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2), a kind of transcriptional repressor, is reportedly over-expressed in metastatic prostate cancer. In this study, we analyzed EZH2 mRNA in circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in peripheral blood as a biomarker in patients with metastatic prostate cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Ber-EP4 coated immunomagnetic beads were used to harvest CTCs, and mRNA was isolated by oligo- dT conjugated immunomagnetic beads. Reverse transcriptase- polymerase chain reaction for EZH2 mRNA was performed and the expression density was measured. The sensitivity of this test for detection of EZH2 mRNA was determined by serial dilutions of a human prostate cancer cell line. Blood samples were collected from 20 patients each with metastatic or localized prostate cancer and 10 healthy volunteers. RESULTS: Sensitivity experiments showed that the test was highly sensitive as it could detect 10 tumor cells per 5mL. EZH2 mRNA expression was obtained from peripheral blood samples of patients and control subjects. EZH2 mRNA expression density in the metastatic prostate cancer group was significantly higher than in the control (p=0.023) and localized prostate cancer groups (p=0.019). There was no difference between the control and localized prostate cancer groups (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: EZH2 mRNA expression in circulating epithelial cells represents a promising marker for detecting early metastasis in prostate cancer. However, more specific and sensitive techniques for detection of CTCs are needed to avoid mononuclear cell contamination.
Aged ; DNA-Binding Proteins/*genetics ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neoplastic Cells, Circulating/*metabolism ; Prostatic Neoplasms/*blood/genetics/pathology ; RNA, Messenger/genetics/metabolism ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Transcription Factors/*genetics ; Tumor Cells, Cultured

Human arrest defective 1 (hARD1) is an acetyltransferase; its physiological significance remains unclear. To explore the relationship between ARD1 protein and tumors, we detected the hARD1 protein in tumor tissues in vivo. We cloned hARD1 gene from Hela cell and construct recombinant plasmid pET28b-hARD1. The recombinant plasmid was transformed into E. coli BL21 (DE3)plysS. hARD1 protein was expressed by inducing with IPTG(1 mmol/L) and purified up to 95% through Ni2+ chelation affinity chromatography. We used the purified hARD1 protein as antigen immunized the Balb/c mice and obtained the hARD1 specific polyclonal antiserum. Through immunohistochemical analysis of different tumor tissues in vivo, we found that hARD1 expressed at high frequency in breast cancer, prostate cancer and lung cancer, especially, hARD1 expression frequency in breast cancer was up to 70%, which is higher than in the other tumors. These results indicate that the high expression level of hARD1 could be an indicator of the breast cancer. This new finding would be a foundation to further explore the relationship between breast tumor and hARD1.
Acetyltransferases ; analysis ; genetics ; immunology ; Amino Acid Sequence ; Animals ; Antibodies ; blood ; immunology ; Base Sequence ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; Breast Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cloning, Molecular ; Escherichia coli ; genetics ; metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Immune Sera ; biosynthesis ; Immunization ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lung Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Molecular Sequence Data ; N-Terminal Acetyltransferase A ; N-Terminal Acetyltransferase E ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; metabolism ; pathology ; Recombinant Proteins ; biosynthesis ; genetics ; immunology

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the effect of hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-la) on angiogenesis in human prostate cancer cells.

METHODSHuman prostate cancer cells of the line LNCaP were cultured and transfected by the recombinant plasmid pcDNA3. 1(-)/HIF-1alpha containing the gene HIF-1alpha with the Lipofectamine 2000 system. The positive clone cells were selected by G418 and confirmed by Western blotting and immunofluorescence (LNCaP/HIF-1alpha cells). The expressions of VEGF, iNOS and Ang-2 were detected by Western blotting.

RESULTSThe expression of HIF-1alpha in the LNCaP/HIF-1alpha cells was distinctly higher than that in the LN-CaP cells. Compared with the LNCaP cells, the expressions of VEGF and iNOS were up-regulated, whereas Ang-2 remained unchanged in the LNCaP/HIF-1alpha cells.

CONCLUSIONThe over-expression of HIF-1alpha can induce an increase in angiogenesis proteins and improve the angiogenesis potency of prostate cancer.

Blotting, Western ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Humans ; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit ; genetics ; metabolism ; Lipids ; chemistry ; Male ; Nitric Oxide Synthase ; metabolism ; Plasmids ; chemistry ; genetics ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; blood supply ; metabolism ; pathology ; Transfection ; methods ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; metabolism

OBJECTIVESTo investigate mechanism for the increasing level of serum vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) in tumour patients during radiotherapy and the inhibitory action of the antisense oligodeoxynucleotide (AS-ODN) to the expression of VEGF protein by radiotherapy in the prostate cancer cell line (PC3M).

METHODSTo observe the changes of serum VEGF in the prostate cancer patients during radiotherapy dynamically and the inhibitory action of the antisense oligodeoxynucleotide to the expression of VEGF by radiotherapy in PC3M.

RESULTSThe changes of serum VEGF in three patients receiving radiotherapy had been observed continuously. The levels of serum VEGF began to increase when the patients received radiotherapy and rised up to peak value after fifteen days, then declined to the range of pre-radiotherapy. Irradiating the PC3M cells with X-rays significantly increased the VEGF expression and secretion. The expression of VEGF protein in the group treated by VEGF AS-ODNs and X-ray irradiation decreased significantly than the group treated only by X-ray irradiation.

CONCLUSIONSThe induction of VEGF protein expression by X-ray irradiation in tumor cells may result in the increasing of the VEGF in the prostate cancer patients during radiotherapy and the induction can be blocked by VEGF AS-ODNs.

DNA, Antisense ; pharmacology ; Endothelial Growth Factors ; antagonists & inhibitors ; blood ; genetics ; Gene Expression ; drug effects ; radiation effects ; Humans ; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins ; blood ; genetics ; Lymphokines ; antagonists & inhibitors ; blood ; genetics ; Male ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; blood ; pathology ; Radiotherapy ; adverse effects ; Tumor Cells, Cultured ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factors

OBJECTIVETo observe the influence of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1alpha) on angiogenesis in prostate carcinoma in vivo and to investigate its molecular mechanism.

METHODSLNCaP/HIF-1alpha and LNCaP cells were cultured, the level of PSA in the supernatant of the culture medium detected by ELISA assay before and after the transfection, and the cellular cycle measured by flow cytometry. Nude mouse models of subcutaneous tumor were established with LNCaP/HIF-1alpha and LNCaP cells, the tumor growth observed, and tumor specimens collected for immunohistochemical staining.

RESULTSCompared with the LNCaP cells, LNCaP/HIF-1alpha cells showed an obviously decreased PSA level (t = 8.243, P < 0.05) and enhanced proliferous activity. The tumorigenesis rate increased and the tumorigenesis time advanced in the LNCaP/HIF-1alpha group of the nude mice. Immunohistochemistry displayed higher expressions of VEGF, iNOS and Ang-2 in the LNCaP/HIF-1alpha than in the LNCaP group.

CONCLUSIONThe over-expression of HIF-1alpha can up-regulate VEGF and iNOS involved in angiogenesis in vivo and contribute to the invasive potency of LNCaP cells. HIF-1alpha may have no influence on Ang-2 either in vitro or in vivo, while the expression of Ang-2 is regulated by other factors in vivo.

Animals ; Cell Cycle ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; Flow Cytometry ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit ; genetics ; physiology ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Neoplasms, Experimental ; blood supply ; metabolism ; pathology ; Neovascularization, Pathologic ; physiopathology ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II ; biosynthesis ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; blood supply ; genetics ; pathology ; Transfection ; Transplantation, Heterologous ; Tumor Burden ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A ; biosynthesis

A cure cannot be assured for all men with clinically localized prostate cancer undergoing radical treatment. Molecular markers would be invaluable if they could improve the prediction of occult metastatic disease. This study was carried out to investigate the expression of BCL-2, Ki-67, p53 and E-cadherin in radical prostatectomy specimens. We sought to assess their ability to predict early biochemical relapse in a specific therapeutic setting. Eighty-two patients comprising 41 case pairs were matched for pathological stage, Gleason grade and preoperative prostate-specific antigen (PSA) concentration. One patient in each pair had biochemical recurrence (defined as PSA >or= 0.2 ng mL(-1) within 2 years of surgery) and the other remained biochemically free of disease (defined as undetectable PSA at least 3 years after surgery). Immunohistochemical analysis was performed to assess marker expression on four replicate tissue microarrays constructed with benign and malignant tissue from each radical prostatectomy specimen. Ki-67, p53 and BCL-2, but not E-cadherin, were significantly upregulated in prostate adenocarcinoma compared with benign prostate tissue (P < 0.01). However, no significant differences in expression of any of the markers were observed when comparing patients who developed early biochemical relapse with patients who had no biochemical recurrence. This study showed that expression of p53, BCL-2 and Ki-67 was upregulated in clinically localized prostate cancer compared with benign prostate tissue, with no alteration in E-cadherin expression. Biomarker upregulation had no prognostic value for biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy, even after considering pathological stage, whole tumour Gleason grade and preoperative serum PSA level.
Adenocarcinoma ; diagnosis ; metabolism ; surgery ; Aged ; Biomarkers, Tumor ; metabolism ; Cadherins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Case-Control Studies ; Gene Expression Profiling ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Humans ; Ki-67 Antigen ; genetics ; metabolism ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Prostate ; metabolism ; pathology ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; blood ; Prostatectomy ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; metabolism ; surgery ; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Risk Factors ; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 ; genetics ; metabolism

BACKGROUNDThe failure of hormone treatment for advanced prostate cancer might be related to aberrant activation of the androgen receptor. We have shown that (125)I labeled triple-helix forming oligonucleotide (TFO) against the androgen receptor gene inhibits androgen receptor expression and cell proliferation of LNCaP prostate cancer cells in vitro. This study aimed at exploring the effects of the (125)I-TFO on prostate tumor growth in vivo using a nude mouse xenograft model.

METHODSTFO was labeled with (125)I by the iodogen method. Thirty-two nude mice bearing LNCaP xenograft tumors were randomized into 4 groups and were intratumorally injected with (125)I-TFO, unlabeled TFO, Na(125)I and normal saline. Tumor size was measured weekly. The tumor growth inhibition rate (RI) was calculated by measurement of tumor weight. The expression of the androgen receptor gene was performed by RT-PCR and immunohistochemical study. The prostate specific antigen (PSA) serum levels were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. The tumor cell apoptosis index (AI) was detected by TUNEL assay.

RESULTSTumor measurements showed that tumor development was significantly inhibited by either (125)I-TFO or TFO, with tumor RIs of 50.79% and 32.80% respectively. (125)I-TFO caused greater inhibition of androgen receptor expression and higher AIs in tumor tissue than TFO. Both the tumor weight and the PSA serum levels in (125)I-TFO treated mice ((0.93 +/- 0.15) g and (17.43 +/- 1.85) ng/ml, respectively) were significantly lower than those ((1.27 +/- 0.21) g and (28.25 +/- 3.41) ng/ml, respectively) in TFO treated mice (all P < 0.05). Na(125)I did not significantly affect tumor growth and androgen receptor expression in tumor tissue.

CONCLUSIONSThe (125)I-TFO can effectively inhibit androgen receptor expression and tumor growth of human prostate cancer xenografts in vivo. The inhibitory efficacy of (125)I-TFO is more potent than that of TFO, providing a reference for future studies of antigen radiotherapy.

Androgen Receptor Antagonists ; Animals ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation ; drug effects ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Iodine Radioisotopes ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Nude ; Oligonucleotides ; chemistry ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Prostate-Specific Antigen ; blood ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; pathology ; Receptors, Androgen ; genetics ; metabolism ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Tumor Burden ; drug effects ; Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays ; methods