The orally active pterocarpanquinone LQB-118 exhibits cytotoxicity in prostate cancer cell and tumor models through cellular redox stress.

Background: The targeted induction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is a developing mechanism for cancer therapy. LQB-118 is a pterocarpanquinone and ROS-inducing agent with proven antineoplastic activity. Here, LQB-118 efficacy and mechanism of activity, were examined in Prostate Cancer (PCa) cell and tumor models.

Identification of miR-30b-3p and miR-30d-5p as direct regulators of androgen receptor signaling in prostate cancer by complementary functional microRNA library screening.

The Androgen Receptor (AR) plays a key role in prostate biology and in the progression of prostate cancer (PCa) to castration resistance. The role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in aberrant AR signaling have not been fully characterized. Here we screened a library of 810 miRNA mimics to identify miRNAs that alter AR activity in complementary functional assays including protein lysate microarray (LMA) quantification of AR and PSA protein levels, AR transcriptional reporter activity, and AR-positive PCa cell viability.

A functional screen identifies miRNAs that inhibit DNA repair and sensitize prostate cancer cells to ionizing radiation.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been implicated in DNA repair pathways through transcriptional responses to DNA damaging agents or through predicted miRNA regulation of DNA repair genes. We hypothesized that additional DNA damage regulating miRNAs could be identified by screening a library of 810 miRNA mimetics for the ability to alter cellular sensitivity to ionizing radiation (IR). A prostate cancer Metridia luciferase cell model was applied to examine the effects of individual miRNAs on IR sensitivity.

Investigation of miR-21, miR-141, and miR-221 expression levels in prostate adenocarcinoma for associated risk of recurrence after radical prostatectomy.

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that regulate a broad array of cellular and disease processes. Several miRNAs are differentially expressed in cancer and many are being considered as biomarkers for predicting clinical outcomes. Here we quantified the expression of three miRNAs, miR-21, miR-141, and miR-221, from prostate cancer surgical specimens and evaluated their association with disease recurrence after primary therapy.

A novel approach for detecting viable and tissue-specific circulating tumor cells through an adenovirus-based reporter vector.

Background: Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) hold great promise as biomarkers and are a direct source of tumor cells through a simple blood draw. However, CTCs are rare and their detection requires sensitive and specific methods to overcome the overwhelming hematocyte population. Therefore, CTC detection remains technically challenging.

Adenovirus targeting to prostate-specific membrane antigen through virus-displayed, semirandom peptide library screening.

The convergence of phage-displayed peptide libraries and recombinant viral vectors launched a promising new direction in targeted viral gene therapeutics, but the translation of targeting peptides to functional cancer therapeutic agents has been challenging. Here, we report progress in developing a successful strategy to optimize targeted viral infection through adenovirus-displayed, semirandom peptide libraries. A phage-derived peptide targeting the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) was genetically incorporated into the adenoviral capsid Fiber protein and flanked by random peptide cassettes.

miR-21: an androgen receptor-regulated microRNA that promotes hormone-dependent and hormone-independent prostate cancer growth.

Androgen receptor (AR)-mediated oncogenic pathways have not been fully elucidated. In this study, we used high-throughput microarray analysis on two AR-positive prostate cancer (CaP) cell lines to identify 16 AR-responsive microRNAs (miRNA). We focused on miR-21 because of its previously reported oncogenic activity in other cancers.

A novel method for generating and screening peptides and libraries displayed on adenovirus fiber.

Capsid-displayed adenoviral peptide libraries have been a significant, yet unfeasible goal in biotechnology. Three barriers have made this difficult: the large size of the viral genome, the low efficiency of converting plasmid-based genomes into packaged adenovirus and the fact that library amplification is hampered by the ability of two (or more) virus to co-infect one cell. Here, we present a novel vector system, pFex, which is capable of overcoming all three barriers.