Retinoic Acid Receptors in Metastatic Prostate Cancer

Abstract : This project is a study of the potential role of retinoic acid receptor in the metastasis of prostate cancer. Using prostate cancer cell lines, we found that the RXR-alpha expression was highly correlated with retinoid sensitivity. Clinical samples showed a trend towards a decreased expression in metastatic cells compared to the primary tumor cells. To determine whether the retinoid receptor RXR-alpha was directly involved in determining retinoid sensitivity, we prepared an adenovirus transducing RXR-alpha was created. Cancer cell lines were transduced with the adenovirus to overexpress the gene. These RXR-alpha transduced cells were showed no change in the sensitivity to retinoids in vitro. In addition we developed an experimental model of prostate cancer bone metastasis in nude mice. In this model, the transduction of the RXR-alpha by the adenovirus vector had no effect on bone metastasis. We conclude that in the experimental systems used, RXR-alpha is a marker of retinoid sensitivity but does not confer retinoid sensitivity or alter metastatic potential.