scholarly journals In vitro model systems to study androgen receptor signaling in prostate cancer

2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. R49-R64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie Sampson ◽  
Hannes Neuwirt ◽  
Martin Puhr ◽  
Helmut Klocker ◽  
Iris E Eder
Keyword(s):  
Prostate Cancer ◽  
Androgen Receptor ◽  
Cellular Response ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Transfer Of Knowledge ◽  
Prostate Epithelial Cells ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Culture Models

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most common causes of male cancer-related death in Western nations. The cellular response to androgens is mediated via the androgen receptor (AR), a ligand-inducible transcription factor whose dysregulation plays a key role during PCa development and progression following androgen deprivation therapy, the current mainstay systemic treatment for advanced PCa. Thus, a better understanding of AR signaling and new strategies to abrogate AR activity are essential for improved therapeutic intervention. Consequently, a large number of experimental cell culture models have been established to facilitate in vitro investigations into the role of AR signaling in PCa development and progression. These different model systems mimic distinct stages of this heterogeneous disease and exhibit differences with respect to AR expression/status and androgen responsiveness. Technological advances have facilitated the development of in vitro systems that more closely reflect the physiological setting, for example via the use of three-dimensional coculture to study the interaction of prostate epithelial cells with the stroma, endothelium, immune system and tissue matrix environment. This review provides an overview of the most commonly used in vitro cell models currently available to study AR signaling with particular focus on their use in addressing key questions relating to the development and progression of PCa. It is hoped that the continued development of in vitro models will provide more biologically relevant platforms for mechanistic studies, drug discovery and design ensuring a more rapid transfer of knowledge from the laboratory to the clinic.

scholarly journals Application of Organoid Models in Prostate Cancer Research

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ligui Zhou ◽  
Caiqin Zhang ◽  
Yongbin Zhang ◽  
Changhong Shi
Keyword(s):  
Prostate Cancer ◽  
High Throughput Screening ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Culture Conditions ◽  
Transformation Model ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Cancer Tumor ◽  
Model Tumor

Complex heterogeneity is an important characteristic in the development of prostate cancer (PCa), which further leads to the failure of known therapeutic options. PCa research has been hampered by the current in vitro model systems that cannot fully reflect the biological characteristics and clinical diversity of PCa. The tumor organoid model in three-dimensional culture retains the heterogeneity of primary tumor tissues in vitro well and enables high-throughput screening and genome editing. Therefore, the establishment of a PCa organoid model that recapitulates the diverse heterogeneity observed in clinical settings is of great significance for the study of PCa. In this review, we summarize the culture conditions, establishments, and limitations of PCa organoids and further review their application for the study of pathogenesis, drug screening, mechanism of drug resistance, and individualized treatment for PCa. Additionally, we look forward to other potential developmental directions of PCa organoids, such as the interaction between prostate cancer tumor cells and their microenvironment, clinical individualized treatments, heterogeneous transformation model, tumor immunotherapy, and organoid models combined with liquid biopsy. Through this, we provide more effective preclinical experimental schemes using the PCa organoid model.

scholarly journals Response to Androgens and Androgen Receptor Antagonists in the Presence of Cytokines in Prostate Cancer

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 2944
Author(s):  
Zoran Culig
Keyword(s):  
Prostate Cancer ◽  
Androgen Receptor ◽  
Cellular Response ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Neuroendocrine Differentiation ◽  
Cancer Tissue ◽  
Androgen Ablation ◽  
Prostate Cancers

Non-steroidal anti-androgens have a major role in the treatment of non-localized prostate cancer. Interleukins are involved in the regulation of many cellular functions in prostate cancer and also modify cellular response to anti-androgens. A specific role of selected IL is presented in this review. IL-8 is a cytokine expressed in prostate cancer tissue and microenvironment and promotes proliferation and androgen receptor-mediated transcription. In contrast, IL-1 displays negative effects on expression of androgen receptor and its target genes. A subgroup of prostate cancers show neuroendocrine differentiation, which may be in part stimulated by androgen ablation. A similar effect was observed after treatment of cells with IL-10. Another cytokine which is implicated in regulation of androgenic response is IL-23, secreted by myeloid cells. Most studies on androgens and IL were carried out with IL-6, which acts through the signal transducer and activator of the transcription (STAT) factor pathway. IL-6 is implicated in resistance to enzalutamide. Activation of the STAT-3 pathway is associated with increased cellular stemness. IL-6 activation of the androgen receptor in some prostate cancers is associated with increased growth in vitro and in vivo. Molecules such as galiellalactone or niclosamide have an inhibitory effect on both androgen receptor and STAT-3 pathways.

scholarly journals Three-Dimensional Cell Culture Models to Study Respiratory Virus Infections Including COVID-19

Biomimetics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Aya Harb ◽  
Mohammad Fakhreddine ◽  
Hassan Zaraket ◽  
Fatima A. Saleh
Keyword(s):  
Viral Infections ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
3D Culture ◽  
3D Models ◽  
Respiratory Viruses ◽  
Model Systems ◽  
Virus Infections ◽  
Culture Models ◽  
Syncytial Virus

Respiratory viral infections, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), are among the most common illnesses and a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Due to the severe effects on health, the need of new tools to study the pathogenesis of respiratory viruses as well as to test for new antiviral drugs and vaccines is urgent. In vitro culture model systems, such as three-dimensional (3D) cultures, are emerging as a desirable approach to understand the virus host interactions and to identify novel therapeutic agents. In the first part of the article, we address the various scaffold-free and scaffold-based 3D culture models such as hydrogels, bioreactors, spheroids and 3D bioprinting as well as present their properties and advantages over conventional 2D methods. Then, we review the 3D models that have been used to study the most common respiratory viruses including influenza, parainfluenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and coronaviruses. Herein, we also explain how 3D models have been applied to understand the novel SARS-CoV-2 infectivity and to develop potential therapies.

scholarly journals Functional mapping of androgen receptor enhancer activity

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chia-Chi Flora Huang ◽  
Shreyas Lingadahalli ◽  
Tunc Morova ◽  
Dogancan Ozturan ◽  
Eugene Hu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prostate Cancer ◽  
Androgen Receptor ◽  
Binding Sites ◽  
Gene Promoters ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Enhancer Activity ◽  
Drive Gene Expression ◽  
In Vitro Cell Lines ◽  
Drive Gene

Abstract Background Androgen receptor (AR) is critical to the initiation, growth, and progression of prostate cancer. Once activated, the AR binds to cis-regulatory enhancer elements on DNA that drive gene expression. Yet, there are 10–100× more binding sites than differentially expressed genes. It is unclear how or if these excess binding sites impact gene transcription. Results To characterize the regulatory logic of AR-mediated transcription, we generated a locus-specific map of enhancer activity by functionally testing all common clinical AR binding sites with Self-Transcribing Active Regulatory Regions sequencing (STARRseq). Only 7% of AR binding sites displayed androgen-dependent enhancer activity. Instead, the vast majority of AR binding sites were either inactive or constitutively active enhancers. These annotations strongly correlated with enhancer-associated features of both in vitro cell lines and clinical prostate cancer samples. Evaluating the effect of each enhancer class on transcription, we found that AR-regulated enhancers frequently interact with promoters and form central chromosomal loops that are required for transcription. Somatic mutations of these critical AR-regulated enhancers often impact enhancer activity. Conclusions Using a functional map of AR enhancer activity, we demonstrated that AR-regulated enhancers act as a regulatory hub that increases interactions with other AR binding sites and gene promoters.

Androgen receptor: acting in the three-dimensional chromatin landscape of prostate cancer cells

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Harri Makkonen ◽  
Jorma J. Palvimo
Keyword(s):  
Prostate Cancer ◽  
Androgen Receptor ◽  
Cancer Cells ◽  
Binding Sites ◽  
Target Genes ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Regulatory Elements ◽  
Gene Promoters ◽  
Loop Formation ◽  
Prostate Cancer Cells

AbstractAndrogen receptor (AR) acts as a hormone-controlled transcription factor that conveys the messages of both natural and synthetic androgens to the level of genes and gene programs. Defective AR signaling leads to a wide array of androgen insensitivity disorders, and deregulated AR function, in particular overexpression of AR, is involved in the growth and progression of prostate cancer. Classic models of AR action view AR-binding sites as upstream regulatory elements in gene promoters or their proximity. However, recent wider genomic screens indicate that AR target genes are commonly activated through very distal chromatin-binding sites. This highlights the importance of long-range chromatin regulation of transcription by the AR, shifting the focus from the linear gene models to three-dimensional models of AR target genes and gene programs. The capability of AR to regulate promoters from long distances in the chromatin is particularly important when evaluating the role of AR in the regulation of genes in malignant prostate cells that frequently show striking genomic aberrations, especially gene fusions. Therefore, in addition to the mechanisms of DNA loop formation between the enhancer bound ARs and the transcription apparatus at the target core promoter, the mechanisms insulating distally bound ARs from promiscuously making contacts and activating other than their normal target gene promoters are critical for proper physiological regulation and thus currently under intense investigation. This review discusses the current knowledge about the AR action in the context of gene aberrations and the three-dimensional chromatin landscape of prostate cancer cells.

scholarly journals Applying phasor approach analysis of multiphoton FLIM measurements to probe the metabolic activity of three-dimensional in vitro cell culture models

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pirmin H. Lakner ◽  
Michael G. Monaghan ◽  
Yvonne Möller ◽  
Monilola A. Olayioye ◽  
Katja Schenke-Layland
Keyword(s):  
Cell Culture ◽  
Metabolic Activity ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
In Vitro Cell Culture ◽  
Culture Models ◽  
Cell Culture Models

scholarly journals Beyond 3D culture models of cancer

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (283) ◽  
pp. 283ps9-283ps9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kandice Tanner ◽  
Michael M. Gottesman
Keyword(s):  
In Vitro Culture ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
3D Culture ◽  
Drug Efficacy ◽  
Spatiotemporal Evolution ◽  
Culture Models ◽  
Dynamic Interplay

The mechanisms underlying the spatiotemporal evolution of tumor ecosystems present a challenge in evaluating drug efficacy. In this Perspective, we address the use of three-dimensional in vitro culture models to delineate the dynamic interplay between the tumor and the host microenvironment in an effort to attain realistic platforms for assessing pharmaceutical efficacy in patients.

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