Effects of the androgen receptor overexpression in prostate cancer
October 2013
TLDR Androgen receptor overexpression can increase prostate cancer cell growth even without hormones.
The study investigated the effects of androgen receptor (AR) overexpression in prostate cancer cells, revealing that AR overexpression enhanced cell proliferation even in low or absent dihydrotestosterone (DHT) conditions. Two AR overexpressing cell strains showed 3-15 fold increases in mRNA and 2-4 fold increases in protein levels compared to controls. Proliferation was highest at 10 nM DHT and 1 nM R1881, and continued for over three weeks in starvation conditions. AR translocation to the nucleus occurred within an hour and was more efficient in overexpressing strains, correlating with AR expression levels. The study highlighted the potential role of AR overexpression in hormone-independent prostate cancer progression.