Regulation of Growth and Prostatic Marker Expression by Activin A in an Androgen-Sensitive Prostate Cancer Cell Line LNCAP

Abstract

Activin A, a homodimer of the betaA subunit of inhibin, is a member of the TGF-beta family. It is a multifunctional molecule regulating the growth, differentiation, and survival of a variety of cells. Treatment with activin A to an androgen-sensitive human prostatic cancer cell line LNCaP resulted in growth and morphological change and those were accompanied by up-regulation of prostatic differentiation markers prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP). In addition, the expression of androgen receptor was also enhanced by activin treatment. These results suggest that activin has significant influence on LNCaP cells.