Estrogen receptor-beta activated apoptosis in benign hyperplasia and cancer of the prostate is androgen independent and TNFalpha mediated.
Prostate cancer (PCa) and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) are androgen-dependent diseases commonly treated by inhibiting androgen action. However, androgen ablation or castration fail to target androgen-independent cells implicated in disease etiology and recurrence. Mechanistically different to castration, this study shows beneficial proapoptotic actions of estrogen receptor-beta (ERbeta) in BPH and PCa. ERbeta agonist induces apoptosis in prostatic stromal, luminal and castrate-resistant basal epithelial cells of estrogen-deficient aromatase knock-out mice. This occurs via extrinsic (caspase-8) pathways, without reducing serum hormones, and perturbs the regenerative capacity of the epithelium. TNFalpha knock-out mice fail to respond to ERbeta agonist, demonstrating the requirement for TNFalpha signaling. In human tissues, ERbeta agonist induces apoptosis in stroma and epithelium of xenografted BPH specimens, including in the CD133(+) enriched putative stem/progenitor cells isolated from BPH-1 cells in vitro. In PCa, ERbeta causes apoptosis in Gleason Grade 7 xenografted tissues and androgen-independent cells lines (PC3 and DU145) via caspase-8. These data provide evidence of the beneficial effects of ERbeta agonist on epithelium and stroma of BPH, as well as androgen-independent tumor cells implicated in recurrent disease. Our data are indicative of the therapeutic potential of ERbeta agonist for treatment of PCa and/or BPH with or without androgen withdrawal.
McPherson
Stephen J
SJ
Prostate and Breast Cancer Research Group, Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia.
Hussain
Shirin
S
Balanathan
Preetika
P
Hedwards
Shelley L
SL
Niranjan
Birunthi
B
Grant
Michael
M
Chandrasiri
Upeksha P
UP
Toivanen
Roxanne
R
Wang
Yuzhuo
Y
Taylor
Renea A
RA
Risbridger
Gail P
GP
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000728:Androgens / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D047629:Estrogen Receptor beta / Q000819:agonists / Q000378:metabolism*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D006965:Hyperplasia / Q000378:metabolism*; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D011467:Prostate / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D000728:Androgens; D047629:Estrogen Receptor beta; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha