Nuclear androgen receptors recur in the epithelial and stromal compartments of malignant and non-malignant human prostate tissue several months after castration therapy.
BACKGROUND
As changed paracrine support from androgen receptor (AR)-positive cells in the prostate stroma contribute to castration-induced glandular involution, we examined if the subsequent relapse to androgen-independent epithelial cell growth could be related to reactivation of AR signaling in the stroma.


METHODS
Human prostate tissue taken before, within 14 days, and at suspected local tumor relapse after surgical castration therapy was immunostained for AR.


RESULTS
Castration initially decreased nuclear AR staining in epithelial and stroma cells, in both tumor and non-malignant tissue, but after some months, it reappeared.


CONCLUSIONS
Local tumor relapse was associated with reappearance of nuclear AR not only in tumor epithelial cells but also in the tumor stroma. Reappearance of nuclear AR in non-malignant prostate cells may be a physiological response to long-term systemic androgen ablation that could influence tumor growth.
Wikström
Pernilla
P
Department of Medical Biosciences, Pathology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden. wikstrom@medbio.umu.se
Ohlson
Nina
N
Stattin
Pär
P
Bergh
Anders
A
D000818:Animals; D001706:Biopsy; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D009919:Orchiectomy; D011467:Prostate / Q000378:metabolism; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen / Q000378:metabolism; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D011944:Receptors, Androgen / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000378:metabolism*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D017154:Stromal Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology
C410798:AR protein, human; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D011944:Receptors, Androgen; D017430:Prostate-Specific Antigen