Mutated human androgen receptor gene detected in a prostatic cancer patient is also activated by estradiol

Androgens are necessary for the development of prostatic cancer. The mechanisms by which the originally androgen-dependent prostatic cancer cells are relieved of the requirement to use androgen for their growth are largely unknown. The human prostatic cancer cell line LNCaP has been shown to contain a point mutation in the human androgen receptor gene (hAR), suggesting that changes in the hAR may contribute to the abnormal hormone response of prostatic cells. To search for point mutations in the hAR, we used single strand conformation polymorphism analysis and a polymerase chain reaction direct sequencing method to screen 23 prostatic cancer specimens from untreated patients, 6 prostatic cancer specimens from treated patients, and 11 benign prostatic hyperplasia specimens. One mutation was identified in DNA isolated from prostatic cancer tissue, and the mutation was also detected in the leukocyte DNA of the patient and his offspring. The mutation changed codon 726 in exon E from arginine to leucine and was a germ line mutation. The mutation we found in exon E of the hAR gene does not alter the ligand binding specificity of the AR, but the mutated receptor was activated by estradiol to a significantly greater extent than the wild-type receptor. The AR gene mutation described in this study might be one explanation for the altered biological activity of prostatic cancer.