Androgen receptor-mediated transcriptional repression targets cell plasticity in prostate cancer.

Androgen receptor (AR) signaling remains the key therapeutic target in the management of hormone-naïve-advanced prostate cancer (PCa) and castration-resistant PCa (CRPC). Recently, landmark molecular features have been reported for CRPC, including the expression of constitutively active AR variants that lack the ligand-binding domain. Besides their role in CRPC, AR variants lead to the expression of genes involved in tumor progression.

Data Sharing Under the General Data Protection Regulation: Time to Harmonize Law and Research Ethics?

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) became binding law in the European Union Member States in 2018, as a step toward harmonizing personal data protection legislation in the European Union. The Regulation governs almost all types of personal data processing, hence, also, those pertaining to biomedical research. The purpose of this article is to highlight the main practical issues related to data and biological sample sharing that biomedical researchers face regularly, and to specify how these are addressed in the context of GDPR, after consulting with ethics/legal experts.

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Founded in 1919, the Society of Biology of Strasbourg (SBS) is a learned society whose purpose is the dissemination and promotion of scientific knowledge in biology. Subsidiary of the Society of Biology, the SBS celebrated its Centenary on Wednesday, the 16th of October 2019 on the Strasbourg University campus and at the Strasbourg City Hall. This day allowed retracing the various milestones of the SBS, through its main strengths, its difficulties and its permanent goal to meet scientific and societal challenges.

Dual effects of constitutively active androgen receptor and full-length androgen receptor for N-cadherin regulation in prostate cancer.

Constitutively active androgen receptor (AR) variants have been involved in the expression of mesenchymal markers such as N-cadherin in prostate cancer (PCa). However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain elusive. It remains unclear, whether N-cadherin gene (CDH2) is a direct transcriptional target of AR variants or whether the observed upregulation is due to indirect effects through additional regulatory factors.

[Androgen receptor variants in prostate cancer].

Prostate cancer is a public health concern as it currently represents the most frequent malignancy in men in Europe. Progression of this hormone-dependent cancer is driven by androgens. Thus, the most common treatment for patients with advanced prostate cancer consists in an androgen ablation by castration therapy.

[The level of evidence for the use of biomarkers in the early detection of prostate cancer].

To systematically review the evidence for the use of PSA and other biomarkers in the early detection of prostate cancer, we searched PubMed for clinical trials and studies assessing PSA and other biomarkers in the early detection of prostate cancer, published between 2000 and May 2013 that included >200 subjects. The level of evidence (LOE) for clinical utility was evaluated using the tumor marker utility grading system. A total of 84 publications, corresponding to 70 trials and studies were selected for inclusion in this review.

Implication of NPM1 phosphorylation and preclinical evaluation of the nucleoprotein antagonist N6L in prostate cancer.

Despite the advent of several new treatment options over the past years, advanced/metastatic prostate carcinoma (PCa) still remains incurable, which justifies the search for novel targets and therapeutic molecules. Nucleophosmin (NPM1) is a shuttling nucleoprotein involved in tumor growth and its targeting could be a potential approach for cancer therapy. We previously demonstrated that the multivalent pseudopeptide N6L binds to NPM1 potently affecting in vitro and in vivo tumor cell growth of various tumor types as well as angiogenesis.

Osteoblasts promote castration-resistant prostate cancer by altering intratumoral steroidogenesis.

The skeleton is the preferred site for prostate cancer (PC) metastasis leading to incurable castration-resistant disease. The increased expression of genes encoding steroidogenic enzymes found in bone metastatic tissue from patients suggests that up-regulated steroidogenesis might contribute to tumor growth at the metastatic site. Because of the overall sclerotic phenotype, we hypothesize that osteoblasts regulate the intratumoral steroidogenesis of castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) in bone.

Reversible amyloid fiber formation in the N terminus of androgen receptor.

Most of the biological effects of androgen hormones are mediated through an intracellular transcription factor, the androgen receptor (AR). This protein presents a long disordered N-terminal domain (NTD), known to aggregates into amyloid fibers.1 This aggregation property is usually associated with the presence of a poly-glutamine tract (polyQ), known to be involved in several pathologies.

Cross modulation between the androgen receptor axis and protocadherin-PC in mediating neuroendocrine transdifferentiation and therapeutic resistance of prostate cancer.

Castration-resistant prostate cancers (CRPCs) that relapse after androgen deprivation therapies (ADTs) are responsible for the majority of mortalities from prostate cancer (PCa). While mechanisms enabling recurrent activity of androgen receptor (AR) are certainly involved in the development of CRPC, there may be factors that contribute to the process including acquired neuroendocrine (NE) cell-like behaviors working through alternate (non-AR) cell signaling systems or AR-dependent mechanisms. In this study, we explore the potential relationship between the AR axis and a novel putative marker of NE differentiation, the human male protocadherin-PC (PCDH-PC), in vitro and in human situations.

Constitutively active androgen receptor variants upregulate expression of mesenchymal markers in prostate cancer cells.

Androgen receptor (AR) signaling pathway remains the foremost target of novel therapeutics for castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). However, the expression of constitutively active AR variants lacking the carboxy-terminal region in CRPC may lead to therapy inefficacy. These AR variants are supposed to support PCa cell growth in an androgen-depleted environment, but their mode of action still remains unresolved.

A novel regulation of PSMA and PSA expression by Q640X AR in 22Rv1 and LNCaP prostate cancer cells.

We have investigated the expression of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) transcripts in androgen-dependent (LNCaP) and androgen-independent (22Rv1) prostate cancer cell lines. We also enquired whether Q640X CTE-truncated androgen receptor (AR) has an impact on transcription of mRNA for PSMA and PSA in transfected androgen-sensitive prostate cancer LNCaP cells. Wild type LNCaP, 22Rv1 prostate cancer cells, prostate stromal cells (PrSC) and LNCaP cells transfected with p-Q640X AR, p-WT AR or p-C3 empty plasmids were studied.

Risk of hormone escape in a human prostate cancer model depends on therapy modalities and can be reduced by tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

Almost all prostate cancers respond to androgen deprivation treatment but many recur. We postulated that risk of hormone escape--frequency and delay--are influenced by hormone therapy modalities. More, hormone therapies induce crucial biological changes involving androgen receptors; some might be targets for escape prevention.

New strategies for medical management of castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Although advanced prostate cancer patients respond very well to front-line androgen deprivation, failure to hormonal therapy most often occurs after a median time of 18-24 months. The care of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) has significantly evolved over the past decade, with the onset of first-line therapy with docetaxel. Although numerous therapy schedules have been investigated alongside docetaxel, in either first-line or salvage therapy, results were dismal.

A designed cell-permeable aptamer-based corepressor peptide is highly specific for the androgen receptor and inhibits prostate cancer cell growth in a vector-free mode.

The repression of the androgen receptor (AR) activity is a major objective to inhibit prostate cancer growth. One underlying mechanism for efficient hormone therapy is based on corepressors that inactivate the AR. In line with this, castration-resistant prostate cancer is associated with malfunction or reduced corepressor action.

Role of cationic channel TRPV2 in promoting prostate cancer migration and progression to androgen resistance.

Castration resistance in prostate cancer (PCa) constitutes an advanced, aggressive disease with poor prognosis, associated with uncontrolled cell proliferation, resistance to apoptosis, and enhanced invasive potential. The molecular mechanisms involved in the transition of PCa to castration resistance are obscure. Here, we report that the nonselective cationic channel transient receptor potential vanilloid 2 (TRPV2) is a distinctive feature of castration-resistant PCa.

Identification of novel truncated androgen receptor (AR) mutants including unreported pre-mRNA splicing variants in the 22Rv1 hormone-refractory prostate cancer (PCa) cell line.

Advanced prostate cancer (PCa) has emerged as a public health concern due to population aging. Although androgen deprivation has proven efficacy in this condition, most advanced PCa patients will have to face failure of androgen deprivation as a treatment. Mutations in the androgen receptor (AR) from tumor cells have been shown to induce androgen independency both in PCa cell lines and in the clinic.

Hormone escape is associated with genomic instability in a human prostate cancer model.

Lack of hormone dependency in prostate cancers is an irreversible event that occurs through generation of genomic instability induced by androgen deprivation. Indeed, the cytogenetic profile of hormone-dependent (HD) prostate cancer remains stable as long as it received a hormone supply, whereas the profile of hormone-independent (HID) variants acquired new and various alterations. This is demonstrated here using a HD xenografted model of a human prostate cancer, PAC120, transplanted for 11 years into male nude mice and 4 HID variants obtained by surgical castration.

N-terminal polyglutamine-containing fragments inhibit androgen receptor transactivation function.

Abstract Several neurodegenerative diseases, including Kennedy's disease (KD), are associated with misfolding and aggregation of polyglutamine (polyQ)-expansion proteins. KD is caused by a polyQ-expansion in the androgen receptor (AR), a key player in male sexual differentiation. Interestingly, KD patients often show signs of mild-to-moderate androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS) resulting from AR dysfunction.

Pleiotropic functional properties of androgen receptor mutants in prostate cancer.

The androgen receptor (AR) signaling pathway plays an important role during the development of the normal prostate gland, but also during the progression of prostate cancer on androgen ablation therapy. Mutations in the AR gene emerge to keep active the AR signaling pathway and to support prostate cancer cells growth and survival despite the low levels of circulating androgens. Indeed, mutations affecting the ligand binding domain (LBD) of the AR have been shown to generate so-called "promiscuous" receptors that present widened ligand specificity and allow the stimulation of these receptors by a larger spectrum of endogenous hormones.

Specific properties of a C-terminal truncated androgen receptor detected in hormone refractory prostate cancer.

Mutations in the human androgen receptor (AR) gene that lead to C-terminus truncated AR variants are frequently detected in prostate cancer (PC). These AR variants lack both the ligand-binding domain (LBD) and the AF-2 region. The aim of this study was to delineate the alternative mechanisms that lead to the activation of such AR variants as they are unresponsive to hormone stimulation, and to outline consequences of the loss of the LBD/AF-2 region on their functional properties.