title: The androgen receptor and stem cell pathways in prostate and bladder cancers (review).
abstract: Bladder cancer is three times more common in men than in women. However,             the physiological basis of the male predominance of bladder cancer remains poorly             understood. A higher than expected association of prostate and bladder cancers             has also been reported which may indicate a common mechanism of carcinogenesis.             Consistent with this, androgens and the androgen receptor (AR) play essential             roles in prostate carcinogenesis and are believed to play a role in bladder carcinogenesis.             There is also evidence implicating cancer stem cells in prostate and bladder cancers.             Indeed putative prostate and bladder cancer stem cells share some common molecular             features. We highlight key proteins (CD49f, CD133, PTEN, CD44) which are implicated             in both prostate and bladder cancers and are enriched in putative prostate and             bladder cancer stem cells. We examine published chromatin immuno-precipitation             studies analyzing the genome-wide distribution of the AR to identify AR association             with, and by inference potential AR-regulation of, these loci. We discuss recent             evidence indicating a role for the AR in the splicing of the key urological stem             cell protein CD44. We propose a model whereby aberrant AR regulation of these             putative stem cell proteins contributes to malignant transformation of prostate             and bladder cells. For these reasons we propose that the relationship between             androgens and cancer stem cell associated proteins warrants further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New                     York, NY 10065, USA.
authors.forename: Katarzyna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Marcinkiewicz
authors.forename: Kymora B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Scotland
authors.forename: Stephen A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Boorjian
authors.forename: Emeli M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Nilsson
authors.forename: Jenny Liao
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Persson
authors.forename: Per Anders
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Abrahamsson
authors.forename: Cinzia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Allegrucci
authors.forename: Ieuan A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.forename: Lorraine J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Gudas
authors.forename: Nigel P
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Mongan
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D011944:Receptors, Androgen / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D011944:Receptors, Androgen