Korean J Urol.  2011 Jul;52(7):494-497.

Limited Expression of Cytochrome P450 17alpha-Hydroxylase/17,20-Lyase in Prostate Cancer Cell Lines

• Jeong CW
• Yoon CY
• Jeong SJ
• Hong SK
• Byun SS
• Lee SE

Abstract

PURPOSE
Cytochrome P450 17alpha-hydroxylase/17,20-lyase (CYP17A1) is a key enzyme in the androgen biosynthesis pathway. CYP17A1 has been focused on because of the promising results of a potent CYP17A1 inhibitor in the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). A hypothesis that intratumoral androgenesis may play a role in the progression of CRPC has recently been postulated. Thus, we evaluated whether commonly used prostate cancer cell lines express CYP17A1.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Androgen-sensitive LNCaP and androgen-insensitive PC-3 and DU145 cells were used. To evaluate the expression of CYP17A1 protein and RNA, we performed Western blotting and RT-PCR, respectively.
RESULTS
We were unable to detect either CYP17A1 protein or RNA in any of the cell lines tested. We failed to detect any expression of CYP17A1, despite several repetitions of these techniques under different conditions.
CONCLUSIONS
The expression of CYP17A1 protein and RNA in LNCaP, PC-3, and DU145 cells appears to be either absent or too low for detection. The mechanism of action of abiraterone acetate, a CYP17A1 inhibitor, may be related more to adrenal androgen blockade than to intratumoral androgenesis.

Keyword

Androgens; Cell line; Prostatic neoplasms; Steroid 17-alpha-hydroxylase

MeSH Terms

Androgens
Androstadienes
Blotting, Western
Cell Line
Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System
Cytochromes
Prostate
Prostatic Neoplasms
RNA
Steroid 17-alpha-Hydroxylase
Abiraterone Acetate
Androgens
Androstadienes
Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System
Cytochromes
RNA
Steroid 17-alpha-Hydroxylase

Figure

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  FIG. 1 Western blot for CYP17A1 in prostate cancer cell lines.

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  FIG. 2 RT-PCR for CYP17A1 in prostate cancer cell lines.

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