Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Microarray-based Identification of Individual HERV Loci Expression: Application to Biomarker Discovery in Prostate Cancer
Published on: November 3, 2013
Mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway is involved in androgen-independent PSA gene expression in LNCaP cells
Omar E Franco1, Takehisa Onishi, Kensuke Yamakawa
1Department of Urology, Mie University School of Medicine, Tsu, Mie, Japan.
Background:
Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is regulated by growth factors and hormones through functional androgen responsive elements in the promoter region of the PSA gene. However, the molecular basis for androgen independent PSA elevation in hormone refractory prostate cancer is unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of MAP kinase activation in androgen independent regulation of PSA expression.
Methods:
LNCaP cells transfected with MEK1 expression vector with or without the MAP kinase inhibitor U0126 under low androgen conditions were analyzed by luciferase assay and electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA).
Results:
Transfection experiments of the proximal PSA promoter linked to Luc-reporter identified one region designated as "B" motif centered at -60 bp to be essential for basal activation. Co-transfection with the MEK1 activated vector enhanced PSA expression, while mutation of the "B" motif totally abrogated this induction. EMSA showed a specific DNA-protein complex, but Sp1 family members and AR do not interact with the "B" region by supershift analysis.
Conclusions:
Our data suggest that enhanced androgen-independent PSA gene expression in MAP kinase-induced LNCaP cells is mediated, at least in part, by the "B" motif of the PSA promoter.
Related Concept Videos
The Ras Gene
Ras is a superfamily...
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression
The mTOR pathway or the...
Interactions Between Signaling Pathways
Convergence and divergence, and cross-talk between signaling pathways
Two distinct signaling pathways can converge on a single functional unit, which may either be a single protein or a complex of proteins. The response is either functionally distinct or synergistic between the two pathways but different from the response...
MAPK Signaling Cascades
The JAK-STAT Signaling Pathway
PI3K/mTOR/AKT Signaling Pathway

