The chemokine receptor CCR5 has been implicated in the pathogenesis of prostate cancer. A novel natural product, anibamine, was isolated and found to be a micromolar inhibitor of the receptor. Anibamine was used as a new anti-prostate cancer lead compound. To discover the pharmacophore, analogs of anibamine were designed using the “deconstruction-reconstruction-elaboration” approach and synthesized. The establishment of a stereoselective route to only one isomer was explored, to increase yield and eliminate elaborate purification procedures. Analogs were found to have anti-prostate cancer activity at levels higher than the parent compound. The molecular modeling studies of the deconstructed analogs indicate that due to the psuedo-symmetry of the parent compound, the binding conformation of the deconstructed analogs may not be very different from each other. All this information together may help identify a next generation lead compound for anti-prostate cancer treatment.

<p>The androgen receptor (AR) signaling axis is a well-established therapeutic target in prostate cancer, due to its central role in tumor maintenance and progression. Although patients respond initially to androgen deprivation therapies and AR antagonists, they invariably progress to a castration-resistant state. Consequently, there is an unmet need for agents that target the AR signaling axis in a unique manner. </p><p>Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors repress AR signaling and prostate cancer growth in cellular and xenograft models. However, HDAC inhibitors also induce epithelial to mesenchymal (EMT) and neuroendocrine differentiation, both of which are associated with prostate cancer progression and aggressiveness. Given that 18 different HDAC isoforms have been identified in humans, and non-selective or Class I (HDAC1, 2, 3, and 8) HDAC inhibitors have been used in most of these studies, the relative contribution of individual HDAC isoforms to AR transcriptional activity and prostate cancer pathophysiology remains to be elucidated. The overarching goals of this study were to (1) determine the role of individual Class I HDACs in AR transcriptional activity and prostate cancer growth, (2) identify selective HDAC inhibitors that have reduced adverse profiles to the treatment of prostate cancer, and (3) identify potential HDAC-interacting proteins that regulate AR target gene transcription and prostate cancer growth. </p><p>Using genetic knockdown studies and pharmacological inhibitors with isoform selectivity, we identified that HDAC3 was required for AR transcriptional activity and proliferation in cellular models of androgen-sensitive and castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Additionally, we found that RGFP966, an HDAC3-selective inhibitor, attenuated the growth of a xenograft model of CRPC. Furthermore, non-selective HDAC inhibitors induced EMT and neuroendocrine markers in prostate cancer cells, but RGFP966 treatment did not. These studies provide rationale for selective inhibition of HDAC3 for the treatment of CRPC, and could provide an explanation for the lack of success using non-selective HDAC inhibitors in clinical trials for prostate cancer.</p><p>We also assessed the role of REV-ERB alpha, an HDAC3-interacting protein, in the regulation of AR transcriptional activity and prostate cancer growth. Using siRNA knockdown studies, REV-ERB inhibitors, and overexpression studies, we concluded that REV-ERB alpha; was required for AR target gene induction and prostate cancer growth, including models of CRPC. These studies also provide rational for targeting REV-ERB alpha; for the treatment of CRPC.</p><p>Taken together, these studies identify two novel targets in the HDAC signaling axis for the treatment of prostate cancer: HDAC3 and REV-ERB alpha. Our studies provide greater insight into AR transcriptional regulation and prostate cancer pathophysiology.</p> / Dissertation

Background: African Americans have disproportionately higher burden of prostate cancer compared to European Americans. However, the cause of prostate cancer disparities is still unclear. Several roles have been proposed for calcium and vitamin D in prostate cancer pathogenesis and progression, but epidemiologic studies have been conducted mainly in European descent populations. Here we investigated the association of calcium and vitamin D intake with prostate cancer in multiethnic samples. Methods: A total of 1,657 prostate cancer patients who underwent screening and healthy controls (888 African Americans, 620 European Americans, 111 Hispanic Americans, and 38 others) from Chicago, IL and Washington, D.C. were included in this study. Calcium and vitamin D intake were evaluated using food frequency questionnaire. We performed unconditional logistic regression analyses adjusting for relevant variables. Results: In the pooled data set, high calcium intake was significantly associated with higher odds for aggressive prostate cancer (ORQuartile (1 vs. Quartile) (4) = 1.98, 95% C.I.: 1.01-3.91), while high vitamin D intake was associated with lower odds of aggressive prostate cancer (ORQuartile 1 vs. Quartile (4) = 0.38, 95% C.I.: 0.18-0.79). In African Americans, the association between high calcium intake and aggressive prostate cancer was statistically significant (ORQuartile 1 vs. Quartile 4 = 4.28, 95% C.I.: 1.70-10.80). We also observed a strong inverse association between total vitamin D intake and prostate cancer in African Americans (ORQuartile 1 vs. Quartile 4 = 0.06, 95% C.I.: 0.02-0.54). In European Americas, we did not observe any significant associations between either calcium or vitamin D intake and prostate cancer. In analyses stratifying participants based on Body Mass Index (BMI), we observed a strong positive association between calcium and aggressive prostate cancer and a strong inverse association between vitamin D intake and aggressive prostate cancer among men with low BMI (<27.8 kg/m(2)), but not among men with high BMI (>= 27.8 kg/m(2)). Interactions of race and BMI with vitamin D intake were significant (P-Interaction < 0.05). Conclusion: Calcium intake was positively associated with aggressive prostate cancer, while vitamin D intake exhibited an inverse relationship. However, these associations varied by race/ethnicity and BMI. The findings from this study may help develop better prostate cancer prevention and management strategies.

Upplevelsen av livskvalitet hos män med prostatacancer – en litteraturstudie                                         Abstrakt Bakgrund: Prostatacancer är den vanligast förekommande cancerformen bland män i Sverige. Många män lever med biverkningar efter behandlingen, vilket kan påverka deras liv negativt och hur de upplever sin livskvalitet. Syfte: Syftet var att belysa upplevelsen av livskvalitet hos män med prostatacancer. Metod: En litteraturstudie där åtta vetenskapliga artiklar med kvalitativ ansats har granskats, sammanställts och analyserats. Resultat: Tre huvudkategorier med sex kategorier identifierades: Bemästrande av situationen – Strävan efter väbefinnande genom kontroll, Insikt i sjukdomens påverkan. Adaption till livssituation – En förändringsprocess i livet, En kamp för sinnesro. Manlig identitet – Den förändrade sexualiteten påverkar identiteten, Relationer som stöd.   Konklusion: Upplevelsen av livskvalitet varierar från individ till individ och påverkas av bl.a. biverkningar efter behandling och synen på sin livssituation. Författarna tror att litteraturstudien kan medvetandegöra sjuksköterskor om vilken påverkan prostatacancer har på männens livskvalitet. Genom att ställa personliga frågor kan sjuksköterskan ge god vård utifrån varje persons individuella behov.   Nyckelord: Prostatacancer, livskvalitet, män, anpassning / The experience of quality of life in men with prostate cancer – A literature study   Abstract Background: Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in Sweden. Many men live with treatment related side effects which can cause a negative effect on their lives and the experience of their quality of life. Aim: The aim was to illuminate the experience of the quality of life in men with prostate cancer. Method: A literature study of eight articles with qualitative approach. The articles result have been reviewed, compiled and analyzed. Results: Three main categories and six categories were identified: Control of the situation – quest for wellbeing through control, insight in the impact of the disease. Adaptation to life situation – a reconstruction of life, a struggle for peace of mind. Male identity – the altered sexuality affects the identity, the support of relationships. Conclusion: The experience of quality of life varies between individuals and is affected by side effects after treatment and the way they are looking at their life situation. The authors believe that this literature study can raise awareness among nurses regarding the impact prostate cancer has on men’s quality of life. By asking personal questions the nurse can provide good nursing care based on each person’s individual need.   Keywords: Prostate cancer, quality of life, men, adaptation

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Les pathologies du vieillissement prostatique (cancer de la prostate, hyperplasie bénigne de la prostate, déficit androgénique lié à l'âge) sont fréquentes, représentant un problème de santé publique. Leur prévalence s'accroit au gré du vieillissement de la population. Si leur coïncidence épidémiologique est claire, les liens physiopathologiques les unissant restent mal connus. Grâce aux progrès de la génétique, et notamment les associations d'étude du génome entier, la quantification du risque génétique du cancer de la prostate sporadique a été documentée par la découverte de loci de susceptibilité. Néanmoins, l'utilisation de ces marqueurs en pratique courante n'a pas fait la preuve de sa rentabilité, dans le complexe débat du dépistage du cancer de la prostate. La prédisposition génétique au vieillissement pathologique bénin de la prostate, en particulier vers l'HBP, est encore très peu étudiée. De plus amples travaux sont nécessaires pour caractériser la genèse et l'évolution du vieillissement prostatique. Du point de vue du traitement, la prise en charge diagnostique du vieillissement prostatique évolue avec de nouveaux biomarqueurs. Le poids respectif de ces outils diagnostiques multiples reste à déterminer avec un triple objectif : (i) mettre en place des arbres de décision permettent de cibler les biopsies prostatiques, (ii) intégrer à la prise en charge diagnostique les pathologies bénignes comme l'HBP dont le bilan, le traitement et le suivi sont connexes à la problématique du CaP et (iii) considérer tout au long de la prise en charge les pathologies associées tel le syndrome métabolique, dans l'objectif d'une démarche multidisciplinaire. / Prostatic diseases due to ageing of the prostate gland (prostate cancer, benign prostatic hyperplasia, late onset hypogonadism) are frequent, and represent a major public health issue. Their prevalence gets higher along the ageing of the population in western countries. If an epidemiological link can be stated between these three diseases, the underlying pathophysiology remains unclear. With recent innovation in human genetics, notably genome wide association studies, the risk of non hereditary prostate cancer has been documented by the identification of susceptibility loci. However, the utility of these genetic markers in a clinical practice environment has not been yet established regarding the complex issue of prostate cancer screening. Genetic predisposition to benign prostate ageing, particularly BPH, has not been extensively studied. Additional investigations are necessary to adequately document the initial phase and evolution of the ageing prostate. From the therapeutic point of view, new biomarkers are about to modify the diagnosis of prostatic ageing. The respective role of each of these new diagnostic tools should be determined with a triple goal. First, improve decision making leading to prostatic biopsies. Then, proceed to integrative therapy of prostatic diseases (prostate cancer but also benign prostatic hyperplasia), and finally consider associated conditions, such as metabolic syndrome, to improve the level of care of the ageing male via a multidisciplinary approach.

Resistance of various cancers to conventional therapies including radio- and chemo- therapy is one of the most investigated phenomena in the molecular and clinical oncology. Recurrent disease is characterized by the presence of metastases, which are responsible for 90% of cancer-related mortality. Fractionated ionizing radiation (fIR) combined with surgery or hormone therapy represent the first-choice treatment for medium to high risk localized prostate carcinoma (PCa). In PCa, the failure of radiotherapy (RT) is often caused by radioresistance and further dissemination of escaping (surviving) cells. To investigate the radioresistance-associated phenotype, we exposed four metastasis- derived human PCa cell lines (DU145, PC-3, LNCaP, and 22RV1) to clinically relevant daily fractions of ionizing radiation (fIR; 35 doses of 2 Gy) resulting in generation of two surviving populations: adherent senescent-like cells expressing common senescence-associated markers and non-adherent anoikis-resistant stem cell-like cells with active Notch signaling and expression of stem cell markers CD133, Oct-4, Sox2, and Nanog. While the radioresistant adherent cells were capable to resume proliferation shortly after the end of irradiation, the non- adherent cells started to proliferate only after their reattachment...

Resumo: O câncer de próstata e a hiperplasia prostática benigna são as duas principais afecções do sistema genital masculino após a quinta década de vida. Além de aspectos étnicos, etários, genéticos, estudos sobre a contaminação ambiental por agentes químicos carcinogênicos, dos hábitos alimentares e do estilo de vida vêm adquirindo importância no entendimento das causas destas afecções. A exposição a contaminantes ambientais, tais como o cádmio e a ingestão de bebidas contendo cafeína têm sido associados com o aparecimento do câncer de próstata e com a hiperplasia prostática benigna, respectivamente. Além disso, existem evidências experimentais de que a exposição da próstata em períodos críticos da sua morfogênese e de rápido crescimento a disruptores endócrinos pode gerar alterações permanentes que levarão ao aparecimento de afecções nos indivíduos adultos e idosos. Neste sentido, por exemplo, a partir da puberdade é comum os homens adquirirem o hábito de fumar e/ou de ingerir bebidas estimulantes, estando, portanto, expostos ao cádmio, presente na fumaça do cigarro, e/ou a cafeína, presente nas bebidas. Desta forma, este trabalho avaliou os efeitos, isolados e combinados, do cádmio e da cafeína, em baixas concentrações, sobre a morfologia e fisiologia da próstata de ratos púberes. Para isto, ratos Wistar com 60 dias de idade foram divididos em quatro grupos (n=15), os quais receberam, via oral, na água de beber, pelo período de 30 dias: Água, Cádmio (10ppm), Cafeína (10mg/l) ou Cafeína+Cádmio, e as próstatas dorsolaterais e ventrais foram processadas histologicamente e foram feitas análises morfológicas, citoquímicas para fibras de colágeno, morfométricas e imunocitoquímicas. Também foram determinadas as concentrações plasmáticas de cádmio e testosterona e intra-prostática de cádmio no... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The prostate cancer and the benign prostate hyperplasia are the main male genitourinary system diseases after the fifty. Besides ethic, age and genetic aspects, studies about environmental contamination, diet and life stile have also emerged as important factors involved in the etiology of these diseases. The exposure to cadmium and the intake of caffeine-containing beverage have been associated with appearing of the prostate cancer and benign prostate hyperplasia, respectively. Furthermore, there are experimental evidences that prostate exposures to endocrine disruptors during a critic period of its morphogenesis and growth may influence the onset of late-life disease. In this sense, for example, from puberty on, many males became smokers and/or start to intake energetic beverage or even yet coffee, thus being exposed to cadmium, from cigarettes and/or to caffeine, from beverage. So, here we investigated the effects of cadmium and caffeine, isolated or combined, in low doses, on rat prostate morphology during puberty. For this, male Wistar rats (n=60), 2 months-old, were divided into four experimental groups (n=15), that received by drinking water and during 30 days: tap water, cadmium (10ppm), caffeine (10ppm), cadmium plus caffeine. The prostatic lobes ventral and dorsolateral were dissected out, weighted and processed for histology. It were made morphological and morphometrical analyses; cytochemistry for collagen and reticular fibers and immunocytochemistry for Ki-67. It were also determined the plasma concentrations of testosterone and cadmium and the ventral lobe intraprostatic concentration of cadmium. The plasma and intraprostatic concentrations of cadmium were increased in the animals treated with cadmium and cadmium plus caffeine. In the conditions of this experiment, the exposure to these two agents did not alter significantly neither the prostatic... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Orientador: Sérgio Luis Felisbino / Coorientador: Antônio Francisco Godinho / Banca: Sebastião Roberto Taboga / Banca: Patrícia Aline Boer / Mestre

High mobility group A2 (HMGA2) is a non-histone protein highly expressed during the development but is low or absent in most adult tissues. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays a critical role in prostate cancer progression and metastasis. HMGA2 has been shown to promote EMT in separate studies. Interestingly, wild-type HMGA2 and truncated (lacking the 3’UTR) HMGA2 isoforms are overexpressed in many cancers. However, there are no studies on the role of each isoform in prostate cancer progression. We hypothesized that wild-type and truncated HMGA2 promotes prostate cancer progression by different mechanisms. We analyzed the expression of HMGA2 in the prostate panel by western blot analysis and the localization in prostate tissue microarray by immunohistochemistry. We stably overexpressed wild-type and truncated HMGA2 cDNA in LNCaP cells and measured the expression and the localization of HMGA2 as well as EMT markers. We also performed the migration and cell viability assays. We analyzed phospho-ERK in cells overexpressing HMGA2 as well as inhibition with U0126 (MAPK inhibitor). To explore the role of truncated HMGA2, we measured the reactive oxygen species (ROS) concentration by DCFDA dye, as well as analyzing Jun-D as a putative downstream effector of HMGA2. Additionally, we knocked down Jun-D and performed the migration and cell viability assays. We treated ARCaP-M mesenchymal cells with camalexin, a 3-thizol-2-yl-indole (a natural product, as a candidate to target HMGA2) in vitro and in vivo in nude mice. Our results showed an increase in nuclear HMGA2 expression with prostate cancer progression as compared to normal tissue. LNCaP cells overexpressing wild-type but not truncated HMGA2 displayed nuclear localization and induced EMT via the ERK1/2 pathway, and this effect could be reversed by treating the cells with U0126. Conversely, truncated HMGA2 displayed cytoplasmic expression and increased prostate cancer migration via increasing Jun-D expression and ROS; this could be antagonized by Jun-D knockdown. Finally, treating ARCaP-M aggressive prostate cancer cells with camalexin reduce its expression in vitro and in vivo. In conclusion, both wild-type and truncated HMGA2 induce prostate cancer progression by different mechanisms which may be targeted by camalexin.

Radiotherapy is the most widely used treatment for cancer, with 4 out of 10 cancer patients receiving radiotherapy as part of their treatment. The delineation of gross tumour volume (GTV) is crucial in the treatment of radiotherapy. An automatic contouring system would be beneficial in radiotherapy planning in order to generate objective, accurate and reproducible GTV contours. Image guided radiotherapy (IGRT) acquires patient images just before treatment delivery to allow any necessary positional correction. Consequently, real-time contouring system provides an opportunity to adopt radiotherapy on the treatment day. In this thesis, freely deformable models (FDM) and shape constrained deformable models (SCDMs) were used to automatically delineate the GTV for brain cancer and prostate cancer. Level set method (LSM) is a typical FDM which was used to contour glioma on brain MRI. A series of low level image segmentation methodologies are cascaded to form a case-wise fully automatic initialisation pipeline for the level set function. Dice similarity coefficients (DSCs) were used to evaluate the contours. Results shown a good agreement between clinical contours and LSM contours, in 93% of cases the DSCs was found to be between 60% and 80%. The second significant contribution is a novel development to the active shape model (ASM), a profile feature was selected from pre-computed texture features by minimising the Mahalanobis distance (MD) to obtain the most distinct feature for each landmark, instead of conventional image intensity. A new group-wise registration scheme was applied to solve the correspondence definition within the training data. This ASM model was used to delineated prostate GTV on CT. DSCs for this case was found between 0.75 and 0.91 with the mean DSC 0.81. The last contribution is a fully automatic active appearance model (AAM) which captures image appearance near the GTV boundary. The image appearance of inner GTV was discarded to spare the potential disruption caused by brachytherapy seeds or gold markers. This model outperforms conventional AAM at the prostate base and apex region by involving surround organs. The overall mean DSC for this case is 0.85.