Abstract 231: Mechanism of bone metastasis in prostate cancer: Role of anterior gradient homolog 2

Abstract

Abstract Prostate cancer commonly metastasizes to the skeleton in advanced stages and leads to significant decline in life expectancy. In a recent study we demonstrated enhanced proliferation of the human prostate cancer cell line PC3 when cultured in the presence of bone marrow conditioned medium (BMCM). In order to identify key molecules involved in increasing proliferation rate, total RNA was isolated from PC3 cells grown in either BMCM or regular medium and subjected to cDNA microarray analysis. Results indicated a significant up-regulation of anterior gradient homolog 2 (AGR2) in the PC3 cells cultured in BMCM compared to those grown in regular medium. AGR2 is a secreted protein and originally reported for its involvement in the formation of forebrain and mucus-secreting cement gland in the frog Xenopus laevis. AGR2 is also highly expressed in human adenocarcinomas of the prostate, breast, esophagus and the pancreas and a study indicated poor survival of prostate cancer patients with higher AGR2 expression. We compared AGR2 gene expression by RT-PCR in different metastatic prostate cancer cell lines, isolated from the bone (PC3 and C4-2B), brain (Du145) and the lymph node (LnCap). Highest AGR2 expression was observed in bone metastatic cell lines, mainly PC3 cells and least expression was observed in Du145 cells. PC3 cells expressing firefly luciferase were also injected via intra-cardiac route into 6 week-old SCID mice and widespread metastases were observed in the lung, heart, adrenal and bone. Three weeks after the inoculation of the PC3 cells, the mice were sacrificed, tumor cells were harvested from various metastatic sites, total RNA isolated and subjected to RT-PCR analysis for AGR2 expression. Interestingly, highest AGR2 expression was observed in PC3 cells isolated from bone microenvironment, suggesting that AGR2 may have a potential role in prostate cancer bone metastasis. To test this hypothesis, we developed a subclone of PC3 cells with targeted knock down of AGR2 transcripts using lentivirus shRNA vector and tested the cell clone in vitro by implanting intra-tibially or subcutaneously in SCID mice. Results of this study indicated a failure of tumor development in AGR2 knocked down PC3 clones. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 231.