|
|
||||||||
Department of Reproduction and Development, Erasmus MC, Erasmus University Rotterdam, PO Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, The Netherlands
(Requests for offprints should be addressed to L J Blok; Email: l.blok{at}erasmusmc.nl)
Prostate cancer development often includes a shift from androgen-dependent to androgen-independent growth. It is hypothesized that, during this transition, growth factors like the epidermal growth factor (EGF) gain importance as activators of tumour cell proliferation. To study this, androgen- and EGF-regulation of growth and gene-expression was analysed in the androgen-dependent human prostate cancer cell line LNCaP-FGC (FGC) and its androgen-independent derivative line LNCaP-LNO (LNO). It was observed that androgen-dependent FGC cells require exposure to either androgens or EGF to proliferate. This is in contrast to androgen-independent LNO cells that showed significant proliferation in medium depleted of androgens and growth factors. Gene expression data were obtained for the androgen-dependent FGC and androgen-independent LNO cells cultured in the presence or absence of androgens (synthetic R1881) or EGF for different time periods. Expression profiling showed that many cell cycle genes, including a number of androgen- and EGF-regulated genes, are constitutively activated in androgen-independent LNO cells. Furthermore, the overlap between changes in gene expression activated by androgen and EGF receptor signalling pathways was found to be very high (75%). These results partly explain why androgen-independent LNO cells can proliferate in the absence of androgenic stimulation. However, possibly other, so far unknown, signal transduction pathways that induce and maintain proliferation, have also been activated.
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
M. Mimeault and S. K. Batra Recent advances on multiple tumorigenic cascades involved in prostatic cancer progression and targeting therapies Carcinogenesis, January 1, 2006; 27(1): 1 - 22. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
A. J. Asirvatham, M. Schmidt, B. Gao, and J. Chaudhary Androgens Regulate the Immune/Inflammatory Response and Cell Survival Pathways in Rat Ventral Prostate Epithelial Cells Endocrinology, January 1, 2006; 147(1): 257 - 271. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |