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Expression of estrogen receptor (ER-alpha and ER-beta) mRNA in human prostate cancer
T Ito1, M Tachibana, S Yamamoto
1Department of Urology, Tokyo Medical University, Tokyo, Japan. takaaki@tokyo-med.ac.jp
Objective:
The distribution of the two estrogen receptors (ER-alpha, ER-beta) in human prostate tissue have not been fully clarified, so the present study investigated the mRNA expression of the receptors to explain the broad spectrum of estrogen activity in prostate cancer.
Materials And Methods:
Four human prostate cancer cell lines (LNCap, JCA-1, DU-145 and PC-3) and 24 pairs of untreated prostate cancer tissue and noncancerous tissue from resected prostate glands were subjected to RT-PCR testing.
Results:
Both LNCap and JCA-1 expressed the mRNA of both receptors, but DU-145 and PC-3 only expressed ER-beta mRNA. In the human prostate tissue samples, 20 of the 24 prostate cancer tissues expressed ER-alpha, and 23 of the 24 expressed ER-beta. Of the 24 noncancer tissues, 14 expressed ER-alpha mRNA and 17 expressed ER-beta mRNA. The incidence of ER-beta mRNA expression between the paired cancer and noncancer tissues was statistically significantly different (p<0.05).
Conclusions:
A higher incidence of ER-beta mRNA expression in untreated prostate cancer tissues was observed. Furthermore, the absence of ER-alpha mRNA and the presence of ER-beta mRNA expression in hormone-independent and/or untreated prostate cancer cells leads to a tentative speculation of the mechanism of the hormone refractory feature of prostate cancer.
Insights
Prostate cancer tissues show higher expression of estrogen receptor-beta (ER-beta) mRNA. This finding may help explain hormone-independent prostate cancer, with ER-beta potentially playing a key role.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
- Endocrinology
Background:
- The distribution of estrogen receptors (ER-alpha and ER-beta) in human prostate tissue requires clarification.
- Understanding estrogen receptor expression is crucial for explaining estrogen activity in prostate cancer.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the mRNA expression of ER-alpha and ER-beta in human prostate cancer.
- To elucidate the role of estrogen receptors in prostate cancer development and hormone independence.
Main Methods:
- RT-PCR analysis was performed on four human prostate cancer cell lines (LNCap, JCA-1, DU-145, PC-3).
- mRNA expression of ER-alpha and ER-beta was assessed in 24 pairs of untreated prostate cancer and noncancerous prostate tissues.
Main Results:
- LNCap and JCA-1 cells expressed both ER-alpha and ER-beta mRNA.
- DU-145 and PC-3 cells expressed only ER-beta mRNA.
- ER-beta mRNA was significantly more prevalent in prostate cancer tissues (23/24) compared to noncancerous tissues (17/24). ER-alpha mRNA was also detected in both cancer (20/24) and noncancer (14/24) tissues.
Conclusions:
- Untreated prostate cancer tissues exhibit a higher incidence of ER-beta mRNA expression.
- The absence of ER-alpha mRNA and presence of ER-beta mRNA in some prostate cancer cells may contribute to hormone independence.
- ER-beta may play a significant role in the hormone-refractory nature of prostate cancer.