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Animal Models |



From the Section de Recherche,*
Institut Curie,
UMR-147-CNRS, Paris, France; the Anatomie
Pathologique,
Hopital Cochin, Paris, France;
the Centre René Huguenin,
Oncogénétique, Saint-Cloud, France; the Laboratoire
dEnzymologie et Chimie des Protéines,
Tours, France; the Hopital Europeen Georges
Pompidou,||
Paris, France; and the Ferring
Research Institute Inc.,¶
San Diego, California
| Abstract |
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| Introduction |
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Hormone dependence of prostate cancers represents the main therapeutic target. Endocrine therapy is usually successful initially, but generally fails after a variable period.13 Surgical castration interrupts the main source of testosterone required for hormone-dependent cancer growth. Although effective, castration does not ensure protection from recurrence of a hormone-independent (HID) cancer. Castration can be achieved by gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogs. The efficacy of available compounds is variable; although they have clearly led to a decrease of serum testosterone or subsequently of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), they do not have a major effect on survival. New GnRH antagonists represent promising therapeutic tools. Loss of hormone dependence marks an essential step in tumor progression, as it deprives patients of the only effective therapy for metastatic prostate cancers. The mechanisms and the molecular determinants of tumor adaptation to hormone deprivation are far from being understood; inactivation of androgen receptors by mutation has been described but remains an exceptional event. Pathways of androgen receptor activation or androgen target genes through MAP kinase and HER-2/neu signal cascade activation have been described,14-16 constituting a putative way to escape from hormone deprivation.
We report here the clinical evolution in two steps of a prostate cancer; we transplanted a sample obtained during transurethral resection of a primary adenocarcinoma into nude mice and established this tumor as a transplantable xenograft model and studied its progression. The features of the xenografted tumor were compared with those of the corresponding patient tumor tissue, with regard to morphology and immunohistochemical characterization. Karyotype and allelic imbalances (AIs) allowed reconstructing its progression. The hormone-dependent PAC120 xenografts permitted the in vivo testing of a new GnRH antagonist. In view of the history of the patient, which indicated that loss of hormone dependence was a step of progression, we designed experiments to test the ability of PAC120 to adapt to hormone deprivation.
| Materials and Methods |
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Tumor material for xenografting was obtained by transurethral resection of a locally recurrent prostate cancer. The sample was free from necrotic and connective tissues and cut into pieces of 5 x 5 mm. Swiss nu/nu (nude) male mice, 5 weeks old, were used as xenograft recipients. They were bred in the animal facilities of Institut Curie and maintained in specified pathogen-free conditions. Their care and housing were in accordance with institutional guidelines as put forth by the French Ethical Committee (Ministère de lAgriculture, Paris, France) and under the supervision of authorized investigators. Each tumor fragment was subcutaneously implanted under the wall of the lower abdomen, near the prostate of mice, and maintained by serial transplantation. All these procedures were done aseptically, under anesthesia.
Immunohistochemical Studies
For light microscopic examination, 4-µm-thick formalin-fixed
paraffin-embedded sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin
(H&E) safran. Immunohistochemical studies, using a panel of antibodies
listed in Table 1
, were performed on the
resected tumor of the patient (first resection), on lung metastases, on
the second resection, and on the xenografted prostatic tumor after
three passages in nude mice. The tissue sections were pretreated using
a microwave antigen retrieval method and immunostaining was performed
using the avidin-biotin complex. Staining intensity was assessed
semiquantitatively: 0 (negative), + (weak), and ++ (strong). The
pattern distribution of staining was focal (F), diffuse (D), or
occasional to rare cells (R). Appropriate positive and negative
controls were used throughout. The Ki67 score was defined as the
average number of cells with nuclear staining divided by the total
number of cells counted. Five hundred tumor cells were counted and this
was repeated three times. The mitotic rate was expressed as the average
mitotic count present in 10 high-power fields.
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Tumors removed from the mice were mechanically disrupted and seeded in Dulbeccos modified Eagles medium (4.5 g of glucose/L; Gibco) with 15% fetal calf serum. Metaphases were harvested after a 2.5-hour colchicine block, 72 hours after the initiation of the cultures. Chromosome spreads were obtained according to previously described techniques.17 Karyotypes were established after R-banding, and chromosome painting was used for all chromosomes to allow greater precision. On the whole lot, more than 100 metaphases were studied, of which 10 were karyotyped. Fluorescence in situ hybridization was performed as described.18 Biotinylated paints (Oncor Appligene, Illkirch, France) were used as probes. The biotinylated probes were detected by goat anti-biotin antibody (Vector Laboratories, Burlingame, CA) and fluoresceinated anti-goat rabbit antibody (Biosys, Compiègne, France). Chromosomes were counterstained with 0.1 mg/ml of propidium iodide.
Allelic Imbalances
DNA was extracted from clinical specimens. Formalin or
Bouin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tumor samples with corresponding normal
tissues surrounding the tumoral tissue were used. Normal and neoplastic
tissues were identified on H&E-stained tissue sections. Manual
microdissection of selected areas on serial sections was done. Ten
slides of 10-µm sections were microdissected and DNA purified as
previously described.19
The markers used and their
chromosomal locations are listed in Table 2
. Microsatellite markers were detected
by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification with standard methods,
except that samples were subjected to 35 cycles of denaturation for 40
seconds at 94°C, and 30 seconds of annealing. The final extension
step at 72°C was lengthened to 10 minutes. The magnesium
concentration and annealing temperature were optimized for each primer
set. Products were diluted 1:3 in denaturing loading buffer and then
heat-denatured; 1.5 µl of each sample was loaded on 6% acrylamide
gel containing 7.5 mol/L urea. DNA was then transferred to nylon
membrane filters. Probes (CA repeat oligonucleotide or specific primer)
were labeled with 32P-dCTP. The membrane filters
were hybridized overnight at 42°C with the labeled probe, washed, and
autoradiographed at -80°C for an appropriate period. For detection
of AI, each tumor DNA sample was run in adjacent tracks, together with
corresponding normal-tissue DNA. Normal DNA that was polymorphic at a
given locus was considered informative. The signal intensity of the
fragments was determined by means of densitometry and blind inspection
by three independent observers. AI was considered to be present when
the relative intensity of the two alleles in tumor DNA differed from
the relative intensity in normal DNA. The reduction in signal intensity
that was observed for one allele with respect to normal tissue DNA was
50 to 100%. Each analysis was performed at least twice (independent
PCR amplification, gel separation, and quantification).
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Denatured RNA in 50% formamide/2.2 mol/L formaldehyde and 1x MOPS (3-(N-morpholino) propanesulfonic acid buffer) were size-fractionated on a gel containing 1.2% agarose, 2.2 mol/L formaldehyde, 1x MOPS. RNA was then transferred overnight to Hybond-N membrane (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, Uppsala, Sweden) by the capillary method. The membrane was UV-crosslinked (0.12 J/cm2) and baked 2 hours at 80°C. RNA were prehybridized for 30 minutes at 68°C with the QuikHyb hybridization solution (Stratagene, La Jolla, CA) and hybridized overnight in this buffer at the same temperature. After appropriate washing, the membrane was exposed to Kodak AR X-ray film at -70°C using intensifying screens for 2 to 7 days. The 32P-labeled probe used was generated by the random primer method from the exon 3 of the hKLK3 gene encoding PSA.
Detection of Micrometastasis by Reverse Transcriptase (RT)-PCR
Brain, lung, and liver of mice bearing PAC120 tumors were harvested 6 to 8 weeks after grafting and immediately frozen for subsequent RNA extraction. RNA was prepared using a commercially available kit (Trizol, Life Technologies). RT-PCR was performed using human HOXB9,20 PSA primers,21 HER-2/neu primers {AGAGTGAATGTGTGTGGAGTTATGGTGT(S) and ATTCAGAGTCAATCATCCAACACATTT(AS)} and HOXA4 primers {CATTCTCCGGTTCTGAAACCAGATC(S) and TGTACCCCTGGATGAAGAAGATCC(AS)}. The quality of all RNA was confirmed by ethidium bromide staining for ribosomal RNA and by RT-PCR using murine glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) primers {GACCCCTTCATTGACCTCAACTACA(S) and CATGTGGGCCATGAGGTCCACCAC(AS)} as a control.
Growth of Xenografts, Orchidectomy, and Hormone Deprivation
Tumor growth was assessed by measuring two perpendicular diameters with a caliper. The volume of each tumor was measured every 3 days. Tumor volume (V) was calculated as previously described:22 V = a2 X b/2 where a is the width of the tumor in millimeters and b is the length of the tumor in millimeters. Median of tumor volumes was calculated by group of mice. The relative tumor volume (RTV) was calculated as follows: RTV = Vx/V1, where Vx is the mean tumor volume in mm3 at any given time and V1 is the mean tumor volume in mm3 at the beginning of treatment. Tumor growth inhibition was calculated as the ratio between the RTV in the treated group and that of the tumors in the control group at a given time X 100. Tumor growth rate was calculated as the median time necessary to multiply by 5 the initial size of tumors. The statistical significance of the differences between the tumor volumes reached in each group was calculated using Students t-test. Mice were sacrificed when the tumor volumes reached 2000 mm3.
Bilateral orchidectomy was performed under anesthesia. Castrated male mice were used as recipient for HID variants of PAC120. Anti-androgen compounds were administered subcutaneously in the flank of nude mice. D-Trp6-luteinizing-hormone releasing hormone (LHRH) (decapeptyl 3.75; Ipsen/Biotech, Paris, France) was administered at a dose of 0.15 mg/kg, in the excipient provided, once every 2 weeks. FE 200486, was obtained from the Ferring Research Institute Inc., San Diego, CA. FE 200486 was given every 2 weeks at a dose of 2 mg/kg solubilized in 5% mannitol, in a 0.1-ml volume. Testosterone supplementation of castrated male nude mice was done using testosterone pellets, 12.5 mg/pellet, 60-day release (Innovative Research of America, FL), grafted subcutaneously in the flank, a week after castration and 24 hours before tumor graft.
Testosterone Assay
Mice were treated and bled after different delays after start of treatment, as indicated in the text. Twenty mice were used as controls; 5 to 10 mice were included in groups of treatment. The serum was discarded and serum testosterone levels measured by radioimmunoassay (Linco Res., MO), according to the manufacturers protocol. Data are expressed in median of pg/ml.
Clinical Findings
A 51-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with dyspnea.
Pulmonary radiography showed multiple lung metastases and extensive
investigation led to the discovery of a prostatic neoplasm. The plasma
PSA level was 16 ng/ml. A transurethral resection was performed and the
patient was treated with GnRH agonist and anti-androgen. The PSA
normalized (below 4 ng/ml, for 15 months), but lung metastases remained
unchanged. Different combinations of chemotherapy were given to the
patient without any valuable benefit. Two years after diagnosis, the
plasma PSA increased to 10 ng/ml, whereas recurrent hematuria with
dysuria required a palliative transurethral resection of a voluminous
prostate cancer; tumor samples were grafted into male nude mice. The
patient received chemotherapy, associated with anti-androgen therapy,
without any effect. A few months later the patient developed bone
metastases in the hip and sacrum. The patient died 36 months after
diagnosis. The natural history of the disease is reported in Figure 1
.
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| Results |
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Tumor tissue samples from the patient were examined at two stages
of the disease: at diagnosis, samples of the lung metastases and of
prostate tissue, and at the second transurethral resection. In the
initial biopsies, histology of the primary prostatic tumor showed a
high-grade adenocarcinoma with a Gleason score of 9 (5 + 4) (Figure 2, A and B)
. The neoplastic cells
exhibited enlarged nuclei with a prominent nucleolus. Fifteen mitoses
were counted per 10 high-power field. These same features were found in
the lung metastases. In the first resection, a focus of prostate cancer
with Gleason pattern 2 was also present in the transition zone (Figure 2C)
, displaying a high PSA staining (Figure 2D)
. The histology of the
sample obtained from the patient at the second resection was very
similar to the high-grade tumor.
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Tumor Progression as Seen by Cumulative Genomic Anomalies
AIs were found in the DNA extracted from the clinical samples from
the biopsies of lung metastases performed at the diagnosis and from
samples obtained at the second resection and in PAC120. The markers
used are listed in Table 2
. They displayed two different profiles of
genetic alterations: only two AI of 8p21-22 and 16q24 were detected in
the lung metastases, four additional AI (17q21, 10q22-23, 13q12-q13,
and 18q21) were found in the recurrent tumor. The six AIs were present
in PAC120 xenografts.
Karyotype of PAC120 comprised 55 to 69 chromosomes of which approximately half were rearranged. Most rearranged chromosomes were in duplicate. Although no karyotypes were identical, most rearrangements were observed in all karyotypes, indicating a relative stability.
The formula was: 55-69, -X, der(X)t(X;19)(q24;?)x2, del(1)(p33), hsr(1){p35;hsr(1;17)}, der(1)t(hsr1;3;8;17)(1qter->1p35::hsr1;17::8?->8?::3q13->3qter), der(2)t(2;14)(q32;q23), +3, der(3)t(3;17)(q13;q23(x2, der(4)t(4;20)(p11;q12), i(4)(q10), -5, add(5)(q12)x2, der(5)t(5;17)(p12;q22(x2, del(6)(p22), +der(7)t(4;7)(q22;q21), del(8)(q11q22), der(8)t(X;8)(q23;p11)x2, +der(8)t(3;8)(q13;q23), del(9)(p12)x2, +i(9)(p10), der(10)t(8;10)(?;15(x2, der(10)t(10;15)(q23;q24), der(11)t(1;11)(q12;p15), -12,+der(12)t(12;19;21)(12q24->12p11::19? ->19?::21q11->21qter)x2, -13, -15, +der(15)t(10;15)(q23;q25(x2, +del(16)(q?p?), add der(17;18)(q10;p10)(q21), der(17)t(5;15;17)(17pter->17q22::15? ->15?::5q23->5qter)x2, -19, del(20)(p11), -21, -21, -21, del(22)q11), der(22)t(Y;22)(q11;p12)+0-6 mar.
All of the rearrangements were confirmed with the use of chromosome
painting. Assuming a monosomic-type karyotype evolution, the following
scheme can be reconstructed: at early stages, many chromosomes were
rearranged and/or lost, leading to an hypodiploid karyotype.
Endoreplication occurred, generating duplicate derivative chromosomes
such as the der(3)t(3;17) and del(9), among others (Figure 3A)
. Chromosome rearrangements continued
to occur after endoreduplication, leading to either a single copy of
new derivatives, such as the del(8)q11q22), or complex single copy
chromosomes deriving from a previously formed and duplicated derivative
such as the der(1)t,(1;3;8;17) probably derived from the
der(1)hsr(1;17) (Figure 3B)
.
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Search for micrometastasis was done by the RT-PCR assay using
human-specific oligomers of HOXB9, PSA, and HER-2/neu. Micrometastases
were detected in lungs of mice bearing PAC120 xenografts. These three
human genes PSA, HER-2/neu, and HOXB9 were expressed in seven distinct
PAC120 xenografts (Figure 4)
, although at
variable levels. In lung extracts, PSA was detected in four
lungs, HER-2/neu in four, and HOXB9 in two. No human gene signal
was detected in the lungs of mice 1 and 2. In lung extracts, expression
of a murine GAPDH, was used as a control of total deposited RNA.
Finally, five lungs of the seven tested displayed a positive signal
corresponding to the presence of human RNA; no signals were detected in
the RNA extracted from brain or liver of the corresponding mice.
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Initial reduction of circulating PSA after treatment with an
anti-androgen therapy indicated that the tumor was initially hormone
sensitive. PAC120 established in male mice was not transplantable in
castrated males or in females. Surgical castration of mice bearing
PAC120 tumors led to almost complete regression; however, all tumors
locally recurred, 160 to 220 days after castration (Figure 5)
. Hormone-dependent PAC120
tumor-bearing male mice were treated with the new GnRH FE 200486
(antagonist) and the long acting formulation
D-Trp6-LHRH (agonist) (decapeptyl 3.75). A single
injection of 2 mg/kg of FE 200486 decreased the serum testosterone
level of 2669 to 104 pg/ml within 24 hours. Serum testosterone was
decreased below 100 pg/ml for 9 days (Figure 6)
and returned to normal level between
day 16 and day 23. FE 200486 treatment completely suppressed the growth
of PAC120 xenografts, as long as the treatment was administered (Figure 7)
. When the treatment was stopped after
the fourth injection (at day 45), tumors regrew 35 to 45 days later.
Repeated injections of D-Trp6-LHRH reduced
transiently the serum testosterone level (266 pg/ml 24 hours after the
first injection) but less efficiently than the antagonist (Figure 6)
.
Decapeptyl produced a significant but modest growth inhibition (36% of
growth inhibition, optimal at day 42, P < 0.003).
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PAC120 bearing mice were castrated when the local tumor reached
250 to 500 mm3. After several months, HID tumors
started to grow. Six HID variants were independently derived,
designated as HID25, -28, -33, -16, -19, and -34. Recurrence latencies
were, respectively, of 15, 7, 8, and 12 months for the two latter
variants. Time delays before the second passage in precastrated males
were of 3, 5, 5, 3, 4, and 6 months, respectively. HID28 tumors were
transplanted either into intact or castrated males. After
transplantation, latency for tumor appearance of HID28 tumors was 45
and 180 days, respectively, and growth rate was 18 and 35 days.
Testosterone delivered by slow-releasing pellets in castrated males
increased similarly the growth rate of HID tumors (data not shown). HID
tumors were studied at the second passage; the microscopic pattern of
HID33 (Figure 8A)
was close to that of
the hormone-dependent PAC120 tumor, some glandular structures were
still present, the mitotic rate was high. HID19 (Figure 8B)
consisted
in large sheets of pleomorphic tumor cells, without glandular
differentiation. HID34 tumors were characterized by a focal
neuroendocrine-like pattern (Figure 8C)
; HID28 and HID25 presented
mixed forms composed of well-limited mucoid cell areas contiguous with
areas morphologically similar to PAC120 (Figure 8, D and E)
, or as
fully mucoid tumors (Figure 8F)
.
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| Discussion |
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Disease progression is linked with genomic instability.23,24 We observed here two waves of metastatic dissemination: firstly, massive lung involvement that did not progress for 3 years under anti-androgen treatment; then, later, bony metastases that grew rapidly, preceding death by a few months. These two waves of dissemination did not have the same prognostic significance and seemed to be related to different genetic events, the second wave corresponding to an increased genomic instability.
A link between metastatic dissemination and hormone independence is currently observed and has been reproduced experimentally.2 However, this case report illustrates the complexity of such a relationship. During the first phase of the disease, lung metastases appeared long before escape from hormone deprivation. The second wave of metastases occurred as the primary tumor recurred under anti-androgen treatment. Thus, metastatic dissemination to bones and hormone dependence would be correlated, at the opposite of metastatic dissemination to lungs which was not.
Although escape from hormone deprivation is considered to be an endpoint, which is clinically true, this does not mean that transition to hormone independence is an irreversible event. Moreover, clinically, the disease progressed under anti-androgen therapy, whereas the tumor was not transplantable into castrated animals, demonstrating that it was still hormone-dependent. This could indicate that the hormone deprivation was not sufficient in the patient to inhibit the growth of his tumor. Our experimental study suggests that growth of hormone-independent variants in castrated males results either from an adaptation to hormone deprivation, or to a selection of a pre-existing subpopulation of HID cells, as emphasized by Isaacs and Coffey25 , but not from a deficiency of androgen-dependent pathways because they are still able to benefit from hormone supply when grafted into intact male mice.
The validation of this model benefits of the comparison with the original tumor. The histology of the first transurethral resection revealed that the main part of the tumor as the recurrent one was of high grade. The histological grade of the xenograft was also high. Transcripts of PSA, a prostate-specific protease of the kallikrein family, were detected in PAC120; Western blotting confirmed the presence of the encoded protein. PAC120 formed micrometastases in the lungs of nude mice although no macroscopic metastases were detected.
The proliferation index was high in PAC120. A correlation between the Ki67 index and a high Gleason grade has been reported.26,27 The high Ki67 positivity of the PAC120 is surprising, given to its relatively slow growth. PAC120 did not express bcl-2, and had a mutated p53 (data not shown). KAI-1/CD82,28 a marker repressed in metastatic cell lines, was not expressed. In the clinical samples and in PAC120, only dispersed neuroendocrine cells were identified both before and after endocrine therapy. After hormone escape, one HID variant displayed a neuroendocrine-like pattern. Neuroendocrine differentiation was observed in prostate cancer, correlated with tumoral aggressiveness, short survival, and early failure of endocrine therapy.29 Mucoid differentiation was observed in two of the six HID variants. Mucinous adenocarcinoma is a rare subtype of prostate cancer and is considered as poor responder to hormone therapy.30 On the other hand, production of neutral mucin assessed by histochemistry is frequent, found in up to 55% of prostate carcinomas.31
Karyotype of PAC120 was near-triploid, resulting from multiple
alterations. Most rearranged chromosomes were in duplicate, indicating
that this tumor underwent a tetraploidization and should be considered
as hypotetraploid. In karyotypes reported in the literature,
chromosomes 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 17, 19, and Y are recurrently lost or
rearranged.32-34
Deletion of chromosome 10 in the q24
region was first noticed by Atkin and Baker35
and was
associated to PTEN gene mutation.36,37
Loss of the
chromosome 8p arm suggests the presence of another suppressor
gene.38
Losses of heterozygosity were described at
specific regions of chromosome arms 5q, 6q, 7q, 8p, 10q, 13q, 16q, 17q,
and 18, where genes considered as critical for tumor progression, such
as
-catenin, E-cadherin, BRCA1, BRCA2, and PTEN, are located. In the
late resection sample, AIs were detected at six loci, including
8p21-22, 10q22-q23, 13q12-q13, 16q24, 17q21, and 18q2. Because five of
these six chromosomes were found as two copies, in hypotetraploid
cells, it is likely that they derived from the duplication of one
parental chromosome. The AIs found in PAC120 exactly reproduced the
profile of AIs detected in the tumor sample obtained from the patient
at the second resection. Interestingly, the initial lesions from the
biopsy of the lung metastases displayed only two of these loci, 8p21-22
and 16q24, whereas these lesions did not progress. Conversely, DNA from
the recurrent tumor displayed an accumulation of AIs. These anomalies
might be associated with the aggressive progression of the disease.
The initial biopsy revealed co-existence of foci of different grades: a small focus of low-grade, PSA-positive, of the transition zone type, and large infiltrate high-grade adenocarcinoma. Co-existence of foci of different grades in the same tumor has been reported previously.39 This observation suggests that either an initial focus has evolved to a less differentiated one, or there were initially two distinct tumors. Prostate cancer is a hormone-dependent cancer and this is the therapeutic basis of the use of androgen deprivation. Escape from androgen deprivation is a facet of tumor progression. Mutations of androgen receptors have been incriminated but they are not always associated with loss of function and finally are not recognized as the main mechanism of hormone escape.40
In our study, the original tumor was hormone-dependent. Disease progression in the patient could be interpreted as a loss of hormone dependence, ie, there was tumor growth despite anti-androgen therapy. Yet, PAC120 was still hormone-dependent, which is surprising because of the inefficiency of the anti-hormone therapy in the patient. This suggests that, in some cases, the dogma that late progression of prostate cancers is because of an irreversible escape from hormone dependence is wrong and that the final stage of this disease could be because of mechanisms involving a metabolic adaptation of tumor cells. Our data showed that hormone supply in the castrated male accelerated growth rate of HID tumors, demonstrating that androgen receptors were still functional, and that the HID tumors were still hormone sensitive.
FE 200486 is a new competitive antagonist of the GnRH receptor that has been shown to produce an immediate and sustained inhibition of the release of gonadotrophins and sex steroids in rats and monkeys. In rats, a single injection of FE 200486 at 2 mg/kg can suppress testosterone down to castration level for more than 40 days.41 In nude male mice, a single injection of FE 200486 at 2 mg/kg suppressed testosterone level and suppression was maintained for 2 weeks. The level of testosterone in mice treated with repeated administrations of D-Trp6-LHRH decreased, the maximal efficacy being obtained after 24 hours, but it increased rapidly. The remarkable anti-tumoral efficacy of FE 200486 as compared to that of decapeptyl provides insights into the activity mechanism of such compounds and the possible processes of escape: the hormone has to be rapidly and highly suppressed, and efficiently maintained at a constant low level. A direct inhibitory effect of FE 200486 on tumor growth, as shown by Lamharzi and colleagues42 with another GnRH antagonist, was ruled out by its inability to inhibit the growth of HID xenografts, although PAC120 and its HID variants expressed the GnRH receptor gene, as detected by RT-PCR (data not shown). Thus, FE 200486 reproduced the effects of surgical castration.
Surgical castration did not cure the mice, despite initial regressions of the xenografted PAC120 tumors. Recurrent growth of PAC120 under testosterone deprivation indicates a change in the biology of this tumor. These changes were evidenced by alterations of mRNA expression of PSA (decreased) and HER-2/neu (increased); PSA mRNA expression was found in all hormone-dependent tumors but not in all HID. HER-2/neu mRNA expression was found in all tumors but was lower in PAC120 tumors, showing that mRNA expression of PSA and HER-2/neu was not correlated, as observed in other studies.43 Expression of HOXB9 was constant in all tumors.
Candidates for molecular determinants supporting growth of HID tumors, as reviewed by Djakiew,44 include fibroblast growth factor,45 epidermal growth factor, and epidermal growth factor receptor mutations,46 fibroblast growth factor,45 HER-2/neu tyrosine kinase,14,43 IGF-BP or IGF growth factor47,48 and PDEF, (prostate-derived Ets factor), a novel prostate epithelium-specific Ets transcription factor, which interacts with the androgen receptor and activates PSA genes in an androgen-dependent or -independent manner.49 All together, these different studies implicate the role of PSA-regulation, HER-2/neu, MAP-kinase, and insulin growth factor and insulin growth factor binding protein proteins, in complex signal cascades;50,51 this is conforted by the cDNA and tissue array techniques of Bubendorf and colleagues,48 which detected high expression of IGFBP2 and HSP27.
In conclusion, we have extensively characterized PAC120, a hormone-dependent human prostatic tumor, as a prolongation of a clinically growing tumor. As a prostate cancer, it was peculiar because of the relatively young age of the patient, the ability of the tumor to be transplanted into nude mice, and its persistent hormone dependence even though it was derived after clinical escape to androgen therapy. It is thus representative of aggressive metastatic prostate cancers. We have used this model to test therapeutic approaches. This model allowed us also to derive several HID variants that could lead to further study mechanisms of adaptation to hormone deprivation of prostate cancers.
| Acknowledgements |
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| Footnotes |
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Supported by the CNRS and the Institut Curie, Section de Recherche; and three fellowships from the Association pour la Recherche sur le Cancer, (to F. P.-B.) and the Luxembourg Government R/D BFR 95/035 (to R. B.-G.).
G. D. P. and M. E. L. contributed equally to this work.
Accepted for publication April 26, 2001.
| References |
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