Dihydrotestosterone increases the risk of bladder cancer in men

AbstractMen are at a higher risk of developing bladder cancer than women. Although the urinary bladder is not regarded as an sex organ, it has the potential to respond to androgen signals. The mechanisms responsible for the gender differences remain unexplained. Androgen receptor (AR) after binding with 5 α-dihydrotestosteron (DHT) undergoes a conformational change and translocates to nucleus to induce transcriptional regulation of target genes. However androgen/AR signaling can also be activated by interacting with several signaling molecules and exert its non-genomic function. The aim of present s tudy was to explain whether the progression of bladder cancer in men is dependent on androgen/AR signaling. Studies were carried out on human bladder cancer cell lines: HCV29, T24, HT1376 and HTB9. Bladder cancer cells were treated for 48 h with 10 nM DHT or not, with replacement after 24 h. Expr ession of cell signaling proteins, was analyzed using Western Blot and RT-PCR. Subcellular localization of protein was studied using the ProteoExtract Subcellular Proteome Extraction Kit and Western blot analysis. We showed that DHT treatment significantly increased AR expression in bladder cell lin e HCV29. We also observed DHT-mediated activation of Akt/GSK-3β signaling pathway which plays a central role in cancer progression. Presented results also show that androgen/AR signaling is implicated in phosphorylation of eIF4E which can promote epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT)....
Source: Human Cell - Category: Cytology Source Type: research