A novel anti-proliferative property of clusterin in prostate cancer cells.

Clusterin is a ubiquitous secretory glycoprotein that is known to suppress certain forms of apoptosis. Since apoptosis and proliferation are two opposing cellular events, it remains unclear if clusterin has any effect on cellular proliferation. The objective of the present study was to examine the effects of clusterin on proliferation in a prostate cancer cell line, LNCaP.

Down-regulation of TGF-beta1 production restores immunogenicity in prostate cancer cells.

The objective of this study is to determine if a non-immunogenic Dunning's rat prostate cancer cell line, MATLyLu, can become immunogenic by reducing the endogenous production of TGF-beta1. An expression construct containing a DNA sequence in an antisense orientation to TGF-beta1 (TGF-beta1 antisense) was stably transfected into MATLyLu cells. Following transfection, cellular content of TGF-beta1 reduced from 70 to 10 pg per 2x10(4) cells and the rate of in vitro 3H-thymidine incorporation increased 3-5-fold.

Prostatic luminal cell differentiation and prostatic steroid-binding protein (PBP) gene expression are differentially affected by neonatal castration.

Background: Although normal prostatic development is androgen-dependent, the prostate continues to grow in the neonate despite castration. However, the manner in which neonatal growth of the prostate occurs, in the absence of the testis, remains largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to examine the differentiation of prostatic epithelial cells after neonatal castration.

Transforming growth factor-beta type II receptor confers tumor suppressor activity in murine renal carcinoma (Renca) cells.

Objectives: To demonstrate that the introduction of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) type II receptor (TbetaR-II) decreases tumorigenicity in an aggressive murine renal carcinoma line, Renca. These cells do not express TbetaR-II. Because the presence of TbetaR-II in benign epithelial cells is ubiquitous, the ability to restore tumor suppressor activity in the Renca cell line with its introduction would elucidate the role of TbetaR-II as a tumor suppressor gene.