© 2001 by Oxford University Press
Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 93, No. 22, 1687-1697,
November 21, 2001
© 2001 Oxford University Press
REVIEW |
Androgen Receptor Signaling in Androgen-Refractory Prostate Cancer
Affiliations of authors: M. E. Grossmann, H. Huang (Department of Urology), D. J. Tindall (Departments of Urology and Biochemistry/Molecular Biology), Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.
Correspondence to: Donald J. Tindall, Ph.D., Departments of Urology and Biochemistry/Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic, Guggenheim 17, 200 1st St., S.W., Rochester, MN (e-mail: Tindall{at}mayo.edu).
Prostate cancer is the second most prevalent cancer in males in the United States. Standard therapy relies on removing, or blocking the actions of, androgens. In most cases, this therapy results in a regression of the cancer because the prostate and most primary prostate tumors depend on androgens for growth and the avoidance of apoptosis. However, a portion of the cancers eventually relapse, at which point they are termed "androgen refractory" and can no longer be cured by conventional therapy of any type. The precise molecular events that lead from androgen-sensitive prostate cancer to androgen-refractory prostate cancer are, therefore, of great interest. This review seeks to identify specific molecular events that may be linked directly to the progression to androgen-refractory cancer. Some of the mechanisms appear to involve the androgen receptor (AR) directly and include mutations in, or amplification of, the AR gene in a manner that allows the AR to respond to low doses of androgens, other steroids, or antiandrogens. In a less direct manner, coactivators may increase the sensitivity of the AR to androgens and even other nonandrogenic substances through a number of mechanisms. Additional indirect mechanisms that do not result from mutation of the AR may involve activation of the AR by peptide growth factors or cytokines or may involve bypassing the AR entirely via other cellular pathways. Identification of the role of these mechanisms in the progression to androgen-refractory prostate cancer is critical for developing therapies capable of curing this disease.
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
T. Vasaitis, A. Belosay, A. Schayowitz, A. Khandelwal, P. Chopra, L. K. Gediya, Z. Guo, H.-B. Fang, V. C.O. Njar, and A. M.H. Brodie Androgen receptor inactivation contributes to antitumor efficacy of 17{alpha}-hydroxylase/17,20-lyase inhibitor 3{beta}-hydroxy-17-(1H-benzimidazole-1-yl)androsta-5,16-diene in prostate cancer Mol. Cancer Ther., August 1, 2008; 7(8): 2348 - 2357. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
W. A. Fritz, T.-M. Lin, and R. E. Peterson The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) inhibits vanadate-induced vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) production in TRAMP prostates Carcinogenesis, May 1, 2008; 29(5): 1077 - 1082. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
L. G. Wang, E. M. Johnson, Y. Kinoshita, J. S. Babb, M. T. Buckley, L. F. Liebes, J. Melamed, X.-M. Liu, R. Kurek, L. Ossowski, et al. Androgen Receptor Overexpression in Prostate Cancer Linked to Pur{alpha} Loss from a Novel Repressor Complex Cancer Res., April 15, 2008; 68(8): 2678 - 2688. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
S.-L. Lin, A. Chiang, D. Chang, and S.-Y. Ying Loss of mir-146a function in hormone-refractory prostate cancer RNA, March 1, 2008; 14(3): 417 - 424. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
L. S. Lyons, S. Rao, W. Balkan, J. Faysal, C. A. Maiorino, and K. L. Burnstein Ligand-Independent Activation of Androgen Receptors by Rho GTPase Signaling in Prostate Cancer Mol. Endocrinol., March 1, 2008; 22(3): 597 - 608. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
T. Hara, H. Miyazaki, A. Lee, C. P. Tran, and R. E. Reiter Androgen Receptor and Invasion in Prostate Cancer Cancer Res., February 15, 2008; 68(4): 1128 - 1135. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
S.-L. Lin, D. Chang, A. Chiang, and S.-Y. Ying Androgen receptor regulates CD168 expression and signaling in prostate cancer Carcinogenesis, February 1, 2008; 29(2): 282 - 290. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. R. Sterbis, C. Gao, B. Furusato, Y. Chen, S. Shaheduzzaman, L. Ravindranath, D. J. Osborn, I. L. Rosner, A. Dobi, D. G. McLeod, et al. Higher Expression of the Androgen-Regulated Gene PSA/HK3 mRNA in Prostate Cancer Tissues Predicts Biochemical Recurrence-Free Survival Clin. Cancer Res., February 1, 2008; 14(3): 758 - 763. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
H. Neuwirt, M. Puhr, I. T Cavarretta, M. Mitterberger, A. Hobisch, and Z. Culig Suppressor of cytokine signalling-3 is up-regulated by androgen in prostate cancer cell lines and inhibits androgen-mediated proliferation and secretion Endocr. Relat. Cancer, December 1, 2007; 14(4): 1007 - 1019. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
H. V. Heemers and D. J. Tindall Androgen Receptor (AR) Coregulators: A Diversity of Functions Converging on and Regulating the AR Transcriptional Complex Endocr. Rev., December 1, 2007; 28(7): 778 - 808. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
S. M. Dehm and D. J. Tindall Androgen Receptor Structural and Functional Elements: Role and Regulation in Prostate Cancer Mol. Endocrinol., December 1, 2007; 21(12): 2855 - 2863. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
H. V. Heemers, K. M. Regan, S. M. Dehm, and D. J. Tindall Androgen Induction of the Androgen Receptor Coactivator Four and a Half LIM Domain Protein-2: Evidence for a Role for Serum Response Factor in Prostate Cancer Cancer Res., November 1, 2007; 67(21): 10592 - 10599. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. Lapointe, C. Li, C. P. Giacomini, K. Salari, S. Huang, P. Wang, M. Ferrari, T. Hernandez-Boussard, J. D. Brooks, and J. R. Pollack Genomic Profiling Reveals Alternative Genetic Pathways of Prostate Tumorigenesis Cancer Res., September 15, 2007; 67(18): 8504 - 8510. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
S Darby, J Stockley, M M Khan, C N Robson, H Y Leung, and V J Gnanapragasam Expression of GnRH type II is regulated by the androgen receptor in prostate cancer Endocr. Relat. Cancer, September 1, 2007; 14(3): 613 - 624. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
C.-T. Wu, W.-C. Chen, S.-K. Liao, C.-L. Hsu, K.-D. Lee, and M.-F. Chen The radiation response of hormone-resistant prostate cancer induced by long-term hormone therapy Endocr. Relat. Cancer, September 1, 2007; 14(3): 633 - 643. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
H. Nakauchi, K.-i. Matsuda, I. Ochiai, A. Kawauchi, Y. Mizutani, T. Miki, and M. Kawata A Differential Ligand-mediated Response of Green Fluorescent Protein-tagged Androgen Receptor in Living Prostate Cancer and Non-prostate Cancer Cell Lines J. Histochem. Cytochem., June 1, 2007; 55(6): 535 - 544. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
K. Tamura, M. Furihata, T. Tsunoda, S. Ashida, R. Takata, W. Obara, H. Yoshioka, Y. Daigo, Y. Nasu, H. Kumon, et al. Molecular Features of Hormone-Refractory Prostate Cancer Cells by Genome-Wide Gene Expression Profiles Cancer Res., June 1, 2007; 67(11): 5117 - 5125. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
N. P. Mahajan, Y. Liu, S. Majumder, M. R. Warren, C. E. Parker, J. L. Mohler, H. S. Earp, and Y. E. Whang Activated Cdc42-associated kinase Ack1 promotes prostate cancer progression via androgen receptor tyrosine phosphorylation PNAS, May 15, 2007; 104(20): 8438 - 8443. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
C.-C. Yang, Y.-C. Wang, S. Wei, L.-F. Lin, C.-S. Chen, C.-C. Lee, C.-C. Lin, and C.-S. Chen Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor {gamma}-Independent Suppression of Androgen Receptor Expression by Troglitazone Mechanism and Pharmacologic Exploitation Cancer Res., April 1, 2007; 67(7): 3229 - 3238. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
H. V. Heemers, T. J. Sebo, J. D. Debes, K. M. Regan, K. A. Raclaw, L. M. Murphy, A. Hobisch, Z. Culig, and D. J. Tindall Androgen Deprivation Increases p300 Expression in Prostate Cancer Cells Cancer Res., April 1, 2007; 67(7): 3422 - 3430. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
W. Fan, T. Yanase, H. Morinaga, T. Okabe, M. Nomura, H. Daitoku, A. Fukamizu, S. Kato, R. Takayanagi, and H. Nawata Insulin-like Growth Factor 1/Insulin Signaling Activates Androgen Signaling through Direct Interactions of Foxo1 with Androgen Receptor J. Biol. Chem., March 9, 2007; 282(10): 7329 - 7338. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
S. M. Dehm and D. J. Tindall Ligand-independent Androgen Receptor Activity Is Activation Function-2-independent and Resistant to Antiandrogens in Androgen Refractory Prostate Cancer Cells J. Biol. Chem., September 22, 2006; 281(38): 27882 - 27893. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
Q. Xia, J. Sung, W. Chowdhury, C.-l. Chen, N. Hoti, S. Shabbeer, M. Carducci, and R. Rodriguez Chronic Administration of Valproic Acid Inhibits Prostate Cancer Cell Growth In vitro and In vivo. Cancer Res., July 15, 2006; 66(14): 7237 - 7244. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
L. S. Lyons and K. L. Burnstein Vav3, a Rho GTPase Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor, Increases during Progression to Androgen Independence in Prostate Cancer Cells and Potentiates Androgen Receptor Transcriptional Activity Mol. Endocrinol., May 1, 2006; 20(5): 1061 - 1072. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
S. Nettikadan, K. Radke, J. Johnson, J. Xu, M. Lynch, C. Mosher, and E. Henderson Detection and Quantification of Protein Biomarkers from Fewer than 10 Cells Mol. Cell. Proteomics, May 1, 2006; 5(5): 895 - 901. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
H. Le, J. T. Arnold, K. K. McFann, and M. R. Blackman DHT and testosterone, but not DHEA or E2, differentially modulate IGF-I, IGFBP-2, and IGFBP-3 in human prostatic stromal cells Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, May 1, 2006; 290(5): E952 - E960. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
S. Veeramani, T.-C. Yuan, S.-J. Chen, F.-F. Lin, J. E Petersen, S. Shaheduzzaman, S. Srivastava, R. G MacDonald, and M.-F. Lin Cellular prostatic acid phosphatase: a protein tyrosine phosphatase involved in androgen-independent proliferation of prostate cancer Endocr. Relat. Cancer, December 1, 2005; 12(4): 805 - 822. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
H. I. Scher and C. L. Sawyers Biology of Progressive, Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer: Directed Therapies Targeting the Androgen-Receptor Signaling Axis J. Clin. Oncol., November 10, 2005; 23(32): 8253 - 8261. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
H. Kim, J. Lapointe, G. Kaygusuz, D. E. Ong, C. Li, M. van de Rijn, J. D. Brooks, and J. R. Pollack The Retinoic Acid Synthesis Gene ALDH1a2 Is a Candidate Tumor Suppressor in Prostate Cancer Cancer Res., September 15, 2005; 65(18): 8118 - 8124. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
L. Chen, S. Meng, H. Wang, P. Bali, W. Bai, B. Li, P. Atadja, K. N. Bhalla, and J. Wu Chemical ablation of androgen receptor in prostate cancer cells by the histone deacetylase inhibitor LAQ824 Mol. Cancer Ther., September 1, 2005; 4(9): 1311 - 1319. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. D. Debes, B. Comuzzi, L. J. Schmidt, S. M. Dehm, Z. Culig, and D. J. Tindall p300 Regulates Androgen Receptor-Independent Expression of Prostate-Specific Antigen in Prostate Cancer Cells Treated Chronically with Interleukin-6 Cancer Res., July 1, 2005; 65(13): 5965 - 5973. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
M. A. Titus, M. J. Schell, F. B. Lih, K. B. Tomer, and J. L. Mohler Testosterone and Dihydrotestosterone Tissue Levels in Recurrent Prostate Cancer Clin. Cancer Res., July 1, 2005; 11(13): 4653 - 4657. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
Y. Liu, S. Majumder, W. McCall, C. I. Sartor, J. L. Mohler, C. W. Gregory, H. S. Earp, and Y. E. Whang Inhibition of HER-2/neu Kinase Impairs Androgen Receptor Recruitment to the Androgen Responsive Enhancer Cancer Res., April 15, 2005; 65(8): 3404 - 3409. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
X. Liao, S. Tang, J. B. Thrasher, T. L. Griebling, and B. Li Small-interfering RNA-induced androgen receptor silencing leads to apoptotic cell death in prostate cancer Mol. Cancer Ther., April 1, 2005; 4(4): 505 - 515. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
T.-L. Cha, L. Qiu, C.-T. Chen, Y. Wen, and M.-C. Hung Emodin Down-Regulates Androgen Receptor and Inhibits Prostate Cancer Cell Growth Cancer Res., March 15, 2005; 65(6): 2287 - 2295. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. K Oosterhoff, J A. Grootegoed, and L. J Blok Expression profiling of androgen-dependent and -independent LNCaP cells: EGF versus androgen signalling Endocr. Relat. Cancer, March 1, 2005; 12(1): 135 - 148. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
C. W. Gregory, Y. E. Whang, W. McCall, X. Fei, Y. Liu, L. A. Ponguta, F. S. French, E. M. Wilson, and H. S. Earp III Heregulin-Induced Activation of HER2 and HER3 Increases Androgen Receptor Transactivation and CWR-R1 Human Recurrent Prostate Cancer Cell Growth Clin. Cancer Res., March 1, 2005; 11(5): 1704 - 1712. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
S. Bai, B. He, and E. M. Wilson Melanoma Antigen Gene Protein MAGE-11 Regulates Androgen Receptor Function by Modulating the Interdomain Interaction Mol. Cell. Biol., February 15, 2005; 25(4): 1238 - 1257. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
Z. Salah, M. Maoz, I. Cohen, G. Pizov, D. Pode, M. S. Runge, and R. Bar-Shavit Identification of a novel functional androgen response element within hPar1 promoter: implications to prostate cancer progression FASEB J, January 1, 2005; 19(1): 62 - 72. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
L. J. Schmidt, H. Murillo, and D. J. Tindall Gene Expression in Prostate Cancer Cells Treated With the Dual 5 Alpha-Reductase Inhibitor Dutasteride J Androl, November 1, 2004; 25(6): 944 - 953. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. D. Debes and D. J. Tindall Mechanisms of Androgen-Refractory Prostate Cancer N. Engl. J. Med., October 7, 2004; 351(15): 1488 - 1490. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
H. I Scher, G. Buchanan, W. Gerald, L. M Butler, and W. D Tilley Targeting the androgen receptor: improving outcomes for castration-resistant prostate cancer Endocr. Relat. Cancer, September 1, 2004; 11(3): 459 - 476. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
G. Buchanan, M. Yang, A. Cheong, J. M. Harris, R. A. Irvine, P. F. Lambert, N. L. Moore, M. Raynor, P. J. Neufing, G. A. Coetzee, et al. Structural and functional consequences of glutamine tract variation in the androgen receptor Hum. Mol. Genet., August 15, 2004; 13(16): 1677 - 1692. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
C. N. Papandreou and C. J. Logothetis Bortezomib as a Potential Treatment for Prostate Cancer Cancer Res., August 1, 2004; 64(15): 5036 - 5043. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
Y. Wang, J. R. Theriault, H. He, J. Gong, and S. K. Calderwood Expression of a Dominant Negative Heat Shock Factor-1 Construct Inhibits Aneuploidy in Prostate Carcinoma Cells* J. Biol. Chem., July 30, 2004; 279(31): 32651 - 32659. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. Cheng, D. Wang, Z. Wang, and E. T. H. Yeh SENP1 Enhances Androgen Receptor-Dependent Transcription through Desumoylation of Histone Deacetylase 1 Mol. Cell. Biol., July 1, 2004; 24(13): 6021 - 6028. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
X. Liao, J. B. Thrasher, J. Holzbeierlein, S. Stanley, and B. Li Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3{beta} Activity Is Required for Androgen-Stimulated Gene Expression in Prostate Cancer Endocrinology, June 1, 2004; 145(6): 2941 - 2949. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
P. Sivashanmugam, L. Tang, and Y. Daaka Interleukin 6 Mediates the Lysophosphatidic Acid-regulated Cross-talk between Stromal and Epithelial Prostate Cancer Cells J. Biol. Chem., May 14, 2004; 279(20): 21154 - 21159. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
S. Shukla and S. Gupta Suppression of Constitutive and Tumor Necrosis Factor {alpha}-Induced Nuclear Factor (NF)-{kappa}B Activation and Induction of Apoptosis by Apigenin in Human Prostate Carcinoma PC-3 Cells: Correlation with Down-Regulation of NF-{kappa}B-Responsive Genes Clin. Cancer Res., May 1, 2004; 10(9): 3169 - 3178. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
C. A. Heinlein and C. Chang Androgen Receptor in Prostate Cancer Endocr. Rev., April 1, 2004; 25(2): 276 - 308. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
M. P. Paronetto, D. Farini, I. Sammarco, G. Maturo, G. Vespasiani, R. Geremia, P. Rossi, and C. Sette Expression of a Truncated Form of the c-Kit Tyrosine Kinase Receptor and Activation of Src Kinase in Human Prostatic Cancer Am. J. Pathol., April 1, 2004; 164(4): 1243 - 1251. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
M. Rahman, H. Miyamoto, and C. Chang Androgen Receptor Coregulators in Prostate Cancer: Mechanisms and Clinical Implications Clin. Cancer Res., April 1, 2004; 10(7): 2208 - 2219. [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
C. W. Gregory, X. Fei, L. A. Ponguta, B. He, H. M. Bill, F. S. French, and E. M. Wilson Epidermal Growth Factor Increases Coactivation of the Androgen Receptor in Recurrent Prostate Cancer J. Biol. Chem., February 20, 2004; 279(8): 7119 - 7130. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
Y. Daaka G Proteins in Cancer: The Prostate Cancer Paradigm Sci. Signal., January 20, 2004; 2004(216): re2 - re2. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. L. Mohler, C. W. Gregory, O. H. Ford III, D. Kim, C. M. Weaver, P. Petrusz, E. M. Wilson, and F. S. French The Androgen Axis in Recurrent Prostate Cancer Clin. Cancer Res., January 15, 2004; 10(2): 440 - 448. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
J. D. Debes, T. J. Sebo, C. M. Lohse, L. M. Murphy, D. A. L. Haugen, and D. J. Tindall p300 in Prostate Cancer Proliferation and Progression Cancer Res., November 15, 2003; 63(22): 7638 - 7640. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
H. Uemura, H. Ishiguro, N. Nakaigawa, Y. Nagashima, Y. Miyoshi, K. Fujinami, A. Sakaguchi, and Y. Kubota Angiotensin II receptor blocker shows antiproliferative activity in prostate cancer cells: A possibility of tyrosine kinase inhibitor of growth factor Mol. Cancer Ther., November 1, 2003; 2(11): 1139 - 1147. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
A. L. Bookout, A. E. Finney, R. Guo, K. Peppel, W. J. Koch, and Y. Daaka Targeting G{beta}{gamma} Signaling to Inhibit Prostate Tumor Formation and Growth J. Biol. Chem., September 26, 2003; 278(39): 37569 - 37573. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||





















