Prostate Cancer Scientific Abstracts - J.L. Dai

Welcome to the Prostate Cancer Guide scientific abstracts, author section J.L. Dai.

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Selected J.L. Dai prostate cancer abstracts

Journal: Molecular Endocrinology

Pubmed ID: 8961268

Authors: Dai JL, Burnstein KL.

Title: Two androgen response elements in the androgen receptor coding region are required for cell-specific up-regulation of receptor messenger RNA.

In most cells and tissues containing androgen receptors (ARs), androgen regulates the levels of AR messenger RNA (mRNA). As the AR concentration is correlated with androgen responsiveness, this autoregulation of AR mRNA may affect cellular sensitivity to androgens. Androgens decrease levels of AR mRNA in many cell lines and tissues; however, in some tissues and possibly also at certain developmental stages, AR mRNA is up-regulated by androgens. Sequences within the 5'-flanking region and AR promoter do not appear to be sufficient for androgen regulation of AR mRNA. We have previously shown that both down- and up-regulation of AR mRNA by androgen can be reproduced in cell lines expressing a transfected human AR complementary DNA (cDNA). Sequences within the AR cDNA confer this autoregulation in transfected cells, suggesting that sequences within the transcribed region of the AR gene are sufficient for autoregulation. In this study we have determined the mechanism of androgenic up-regulation of AR mRNA encoded by the human AR cDNA in the prostate cancer cell line, PC3, and have identified the cis-acting sequences of the AR cDNA that are required. The observations that actinomycin D blocked androgenic up-regulation of AR mRNA but cycloheximide had no effect are consistent with a model in which AR is directly involved in transcriptional up-regulation of AR cDNA expression. Nuclear run-on assays showed that androgen treatment resulted in increased transcription of the AR cDNA. Furthermore, a 350-bp AR cDNA fragment inserted 5' of a thymidine kinase promoter-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene conferred androgen induction of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase activity in PC3 cells. This 350-bp fragment, which is located in the AR coding region, contains two putative androgen response elements (AREs) separated by 182 bp. The 5'-most ARE (ARE-1, 5'-TGTCCT-3') resembles a half-site of the palindromic consensus hormone response element, recognized by several steroid receptors, including AR, and the 3'-sequence (ARE-2, 5'-AGTACTCC-3') is identical to a portion of an androgen-responsive region found in the rat probasin gene promoter. Analysis of either ARE-1 or ARE-2 mutants revealed that these elements function synergistically. AR protein binds to the 350-bp fragment, as demonstrated by electrophoretic mobility shift assays using a glutathione-S-transferase-AR fusion protein containing the DNA- and steroid-binding domains of AR. These results indicate that the AR coding region contains an androgen-responsive region that is involved in cell line-specific up-regulation of AR mRNA.

Contact: Department of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, University of Miami School of Medicine, Florida 33101, USA.

Journal: Steroids

Pubmed ID: 8883219

Authors: Dai JL, Maiorino CA, Gkonos PJ, Burnstein KL.

Title: Androgenic up-regulation of androgen receptor cDNA expression in androgen-independent prostate cancer cells.

The expression of the androgen receptor (AR) gene is regulated by androgens. Although androgens down-regulate AR mRNA in most cell lines and tissues, including the prostate, up-regulation occurs in some tissues. Androgen-mediated reduction in AR mRNA is reproduced in COS1 cells and in the androgen-sensitive human prostate cancer cell line LNCaP when each expresses the AR cDNA. We have previously established that the AR cDNA contains the requisite sequences for this down-regulation. Here we shown that androgen promoted up-regulation of AR mRNA in two androgen-independent human prostate cancer cell lines, PC3 and DU145, when each was transfected with a human AR cDNA. This effect was due to the AR cDNA and not to the heterologous promoter driving AR expression. In addition to up-regulation of AR mRNA, androgen induced comparable increases in AR protein levels in PC3 cells stably expressing an AR cDNA (PC3/AR). Up-regulation of AR in PC3/AR cells was accompanied by failure of these cells to undergo desensitization or inactivation of AR following prolonged (96 h) androgen administration, whereas the same conditions resulted in desensitization of AR transactivation in LNCaP cells and in CVl cells that stably express the AR cDNA. Androgen treatment of PC3/AR cells resulted in induction of an androgen-regulated reporter gene (MMTV-CAT) as well as the native prostate-specific antigen gene, which is silent in untransfected PC3 but is androgen up-regulated in LNCaP and in the prostate. These results suggest that ectopic expression of AR in androgen-independent prostate cancer cell lines establishes both typical and atypical androgenic responses in a target gene-specific manner. Androgenic up-regulation of AR cDNA expression may be due to distinct signaling mechanisms that influence androgen action in androgen-independent prostate cancer cells.