title: Rapid, non-destructive, cell-based screening assays for agents that modulate growth, death, and androgen receptor activation in prostate cancer cells.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We developed non-invasive, cell-based screening assays to rapidly and biologically assess factors that modulate prostate cancer growth and affect androgen receptor (AR) activity.
  
  
  METHODS
  LNCaP cells, which stably express enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) either constitutively or upon AR activation, were treated with a variety of agents, and then monitored by fluorescence and MTS assays for dose-dependent changes in cell number and AR activity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The assays were validated for rapid, fluorescence-based, quantitative measurement for the presence of growth and AR modulators. Using these assays, we found that osteoblast conditioned media (CM) enhanced prostate cancer cell growth, but not AR activity. After priming with androgen (<1 nM R1881), forskolin or the pesticide dichlorvos enhanced AR activation, whereas interleukin-6 (IL-6) inhibited it.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These non-destructive, cell-based assays enable rapid systematic monitoring of the effects of drugs or complex mixtures on prostate cancer cell growth and/or AR activity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Peyman
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tavassoli
authors.forename: Rob
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Snoek
authors.forename: Mira
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ray
authors.forename: Leticia Gomez
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: Paul S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Rennie
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D000728:Androgens; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D001189:Aryl Hydrocarbon Hydroxylases / Q000494:pharmacology; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D005576:Colforsin / Q000494:pharmacology; D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned / Q000494:pharmacology; D000072467:Cytochrome P450 Family 2; D004006:Dichlorvos / Q000494:pharmacology; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007306:Insecticides / Q000494:pharmacology; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D010006:Osteoblasts / Q000166:cytology; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D011944:Receptors, Androgen / Q000378:metabolism; D039181:Steroid 16-alpha-Hydroxylase; D013250:Steroid Hydroxylases / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D000728:Androgens; D017077:Culture Media, Conditioned; D007306:Insecticides; D015850:Interleukin-6; D011944:Receptors, Androgen; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D005576:Colforsin; D004006:Dichlorvos; D013250:Steroid Hydroxylases; D001189:Aryl Hydrocarbon Hydroxylases; C450279:CYP2C11 protein, rat; D000072467:Cytochrome P450 Family 2; D039181:Steroid 16-alpha-Hydroxylase