Expression of the Protooncogene bcl-2 in the Prostate and Its Association with Emergence of Androgen-independent Prostate Cancer

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作者：

TJ Mcdonnell，P Troncoso，SM Brisbay，C Logothetis，LWK Chung，JT Hsieh，SM Tu，ML Campbell

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摘要：

The significance of apoptosis in relation to the development and progression of prostate cancer remains largely undefined. bcl-2 is an oncogene that functions by overriding apoptosis. bcl-2 expression was localized to the basal epithelial cells in the normal human prostate with the use of immunohistochemistry. Androgen-dependent and androgen-independent prostate carcinomas were evaluated immunohistochemically for bcl-2 expression. bcl-2 was undetectable in 13 of 19 cases of androgen-dependent cancers. In contrast, androgen-independent cancers displayed diffuse, high levels of bcl-2 staining (P < 0.01). In rats, steady-state levels of bcl-2 mRNA, assessed by S1 assays, reached maximum levels 10 days following castration. Addition of exogenous testosterone with, or without, flutamide demonstrated that the increased bcl-2 mRNA resulted from androgen ablation. Our findings indicate that bcl-2 expression is augmented following androgen ablation and is correlated with the progression of prostate cancer from androgen dependence to androgen independence.

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关键词：

Animals Rats Prostate Prostatic Neoplasms Neoplasms, Hormone-Dependent Proto-Oncogene Proteins Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 Androgens Apoptosis Gene Expression