Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) receptor is a G protein-coupled receptor involved in the synthesis and release of pituitary gonadotropins. GnRH analogs constitute the most widely employed medical treatment for prostatic cancer. The predominant mechanism of action is presumed to be via the inhibition of gonadotropins and resultant decrease in androgen. Although pituitary and extra-pituitary GnRH-R transcripts appear identical, their functional characteristics ...

Rationale and aims: Aberrant activation or “reactivation” of androgen receptor in the course of androgen-ablation therapy shows a potential cause for the development of castration-resistant prostate cancer. This study tested the hypothesis that belinostat (PXD101), a potent pan histone deacetylase inhibitor, may potentiate hormonal therapy and prevent onset of castration resistant phenotype Material and Methods. A panel of human prostate cancer (Pca) cells with grade...

We hypothesized that hormonal therapy favors the development of the hormone-resistant (HR) phenotype through epigenetic mechanisms. Human prostate cancer (Pca) tissues and in vitro and in vivo models were used to verify this hypothesis. We demonstrated that tumor cells continuously treated with BCLT or cultured in androgen depleted medium progressively acquire higher DNMT activity and expression. Increased DNMT expression and activity also paralleled the up-regul...