Interferons (IFNs) are known to possess potent antitumor properties. Previous studies have indicated that IFNs are capable of modulating the expression of various tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes. In this study, we looked at the effect of IFN-gamma on the neu/HER-2 proto-oncogene in the DU145, LNCaP, and PC-3 prostate cancer cell lines. IFN-gamma inhibited cell proliferation in both DU145 a...

Plumbagin (PLB) has been shown to have anticancer activities in animal models, but the role of PLB in prostate cancer treatment is unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effects of PLB on apoptosis and autophagy and the underlying mechanisms in human prostate cancer cell lines PC-3 and DU145. Our study has shown that PLB had potent pro-apoptotic and pro-autophagic effects on PC-3 and DU14...

An increasing number of malignancies has been shown to be initiated and propelled by small subpopulations of cancer stem cells (CSC). However, whether tumor aggressiveness is driven by CSC and by what extent this property may be relevant within the tumor mass is still unsettled. To address this issue, we isolated a rare tumor cell population on the basis of its CD44(+)CD24(-) phenotype from the...

Exosomes are a distinct population of extracellular vesicles of endocytic origin with a protein repertoire similar to the parent cell. Although tumour-derived exosomes harbour immunosuppressive characteristics, they also carry tumour antigens and thus potentially contribute to immune activation. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of prostate cancer exosomes on tumour antigen cross-...

Using an in vivo cycling strategy, we selected metastatic cancer cells from the lymph nodes (LN) of mice bearing orthotopic DU145 human prostate tumors. Repeated rounds of metastatic selection (LN1-LN4) progressively increased the epithelial phenotype, resulting in a new model of tumor cell mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET). DU145-LN4 showed increased cell-cell adhesions, higher expressio...

Benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, is a major environmental pollutant. In this study, the effects of this carcinogen/mutagen and one of its metabolites, benzo[a]pyrene-7,8-diol-9,10-epoxide (BPDE), on human prostate carcinoma cell line DU145, were examined. Cell viability, DNA damage, and cell cycle progression were evaluated as toxic end-points. We have shown that B[a]P...

Impaired Ca2+ signaling in prostate cancer contributes to several cancer hallmarks, such as enhanced proliferation and migration and a decreased ability to induce apoptosis. Na+ influx via transient receptor potential melastatin 4 channel (TRPM4) can reduce store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) by decreasing the driving force for Ca2+. In patients with prostate cancer, gene expression of TRPM4 is el...

Neutral endopeptidase (NEP) is a cell-surface peptidase that inhibits prostate cancer cell growth partly via inhibition of Akt kinase. We investigated the antitumor effects of an adenovirus gene delivery system (AdNEP) to restore NEP expression in DU145 prostate cancer cells in combination with paclitaxel chemotherapy. DU145 cells were infected with adenovirus expressing NEP or LacZ, treated wi...

Docetaxel has been the standard first-line therapy in metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer. The survival benefit is, however, limited by either primary or acquired resistance. In this study, Du145 prostate cancer cells were converted to docetaxel-resistant cells Du145-R and Du145-RB by in vitro culturing. Next generation RNAseq was employed to analyze these cell lines. Forty-two gene...