Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 2, 2026

A Bioluminescent and Fluorescent Orthotopic Syngeneic Murine Model of Androgen-dependent and Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer
Published on: March 6, 2018
Relationship between glucocorticoid receptor signal pathway and androgen-independent prostate cancer
Tian-Zhong Yan1, Feng-Shuo Jin, Li-Ping Xie
1Department of Urology, First Affiliated Hospital, Medical College of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, PR China. ytz460@hotmail.com
Objective:
To study the role of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) signal pathway and downstream cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) in androgen-independent growth of prostate cancer (PC).
Methods:
The human androgen-dependent PC (ADPC) cell line LNCaP and androgen-independent PC (AIPC) cell line DU145 were cultured in vitro. Immunocytochemistry was used to examine the expression of the androgen receptor (AR), GR, HSP90 and IL-6. The GR antagonist RU486 was used to treat cultured cells, and the effects of RU486 on the proliferation of both cell lines were analyzed by MTT assay. Expression of HSP90 and IL-6 mRNA and protein was assessed by RT-PCR and Western blots, respectively.
Results:
LNCaP cells were AR-positive and GR-negative, whereas DU145 cells were GR-positive and AR-negative. The expression of HSP90 and IL-6 in DU145 cells were significantly stronger than that in LNCaP cells (p < 0.01). RU486 had no obvious effects on the growth of LNCaP cells, but exerted a significant time- and dose-dependent growth inhibition on DU145 cells at doses as low as 0.1 micromol/l. RU486 treatment of DU145 cells also resulted in a dose-dependent decrease in the expression of HSP90 and IL-6 mRNA and protein.
Conclusions:
The GR signal pathway may be the main survival pathway for DU145 cells. Abnormal hyperactivation of the GR signal pathway and its promoting the expression of HSP90 and IL-6 contribute to the progression of ADPC to AIPC after androgen ablation.
More Related Videos
08:36Prostate Organoid Cultures as Tools to Translate Genotypes and Mutational Profiles to Pharmacological Responses
Published on: October 24, 2019
12:13Sequencing Small Non-coding RNA from Formalin-fixed Tissues and Serum-derived Exosomes from Castration-resistant Prostate Cancer Patients
Published on: November 19, 2019
Related Concept Videos
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...
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression
The mTOR pathway or the...
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression
The mTOR pathway or the...
Signal Transduction: Overview
Typically, signal transduction involves three...
Amplifying Signals via Second Messengers
Amplifying Signals via Enzymatic Cascade