Mitogen-activated protein kinase and mitogen-activated kinase phosphatase-1 expression in the Noble rat model of sex hormone-induced prostatic dysplasia and carcinoma.
Our recent studies have implicated the TGF-alpha/epidermal growth factor receptor pathway in the genesis of testosterone (T) and estradiol-17 beta (E2)-induced dysplasia in the dorsolateral prostate (DLP) of Noble rats. This pathway was also found to be markedly up-regulated in the androgen-independent transplantable carcinoma that arose from the DLP of a Noble rat. In the current study, we investigated the expression of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAP-kinase) and mitogen-activated kinase phosphatase-1 (MKP-1), key downstream regulators of growth factor-activated signal transduction in the DLP of castrated, castrated T-supplemented, and T+E2-treated rats and in the androgen-independent transplantable carcinoma. Both MAP-kinase and MKP-1 expression in the DLP were found to be dependent on androgen stimulation. Immunoblots of DLP from T+E2 treated rats demonstrated a selective decline in MKP-1 levels with no alteration in MAP-kinase expression. These findings suggest that the dual hormone treatment induces changes in the signal transduction pathway, which favors the protracted mitogenic action of MAP-kinase. In situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry findings corroborated the immunoblot data but also revealed that both MAP-kinase and MKP-1 were strongly expressed in severely dysplastic lesions, which may indicate the presence of transformed cells in these foci. In this regard, both proteins were strongly expressed in samples of the androgen-independent transplantable carcinoma. Taken together, results from this and our recent study suggest that alterations in a growth factor-MAP-kinase pathway may be important events in the initiation and progression of prostatic carcinoma.
Leav
I
I
Department of Pathology, Tufts University Schools of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA.
Galluzzi
C M
CM
Ziar
J
J
Stork
P J
PJ
Ho
S M
SM
Loda
M
M
D000818:Animals; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism*; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000201:enzymology*; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D054638:Dual Specificity Phosphatase 1; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones; D017874:Immediate-Early Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D015151:Immunoblotting; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008297:Male; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1; D048052:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D010749:Phosphoprotein Phosphatases; D011469:Prostatic Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000201:enzymology*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000201:enzymology*; D054645:Protein Phosphatase 1; D017027:Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones; D017874:Immediate-Early Proteins; D017871:Calcium-Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinases; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1; D048052:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D010749:Phosphoprotein Phosphatases; D054645:Protein Phosphatase 1; D054638:Dual Specificity Phosphatase 1; C517021:Dusp1 protein, rat; D017027:Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases