Follicle-stimulating hormone promotes growth of human prostate cancer cell line-derived tumor xenografts

Lower pretreatment serum testosterone level predicts poor prognosis in the patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer undergoing androgen deprivation therapy

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to reveal the association between pretreatment serum testosterone levels and prognosis in patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer treated with androgen deprivation therapy.

METHODS

A total of 91 patients were included in this retrospective study. Clinical data were obtained through chart review. Multivariate cox proportional hazards analyses addressed the impact of variables on castration-resistant prostate cancer-free and overall survivals.

RESULTS

During a median follow-up of 41.7 months, 61 (67%) and 49 (54%) patients developed castration-resistant prostate cancer and died, respectively. The median castration-resistant prostate cancer-free and overall survivals were 15.5 and 59.9 months, respectively. The cutoff value for discriminating between low- and high-testosterone levels was determined as 450 ng/dl by calculating the receiver operating characteristic curve. Patients in the low-testosterone group (n = 37) had a significantly higher body mass index, worse comorbidities represented by the higher Charlson comorbidity index and higher serum lactate dehydrogenase levels, than those in the high-testosterone group (n = 54). Castration-resistant prostate cancer free and overall survivals were significantly shorter in the low-testosterone group than in the high-testosterone group (P = 0.021 and P < 0.001, respectively). Multivariate analysis identified testosterone level of <450 ng/dl as an independent factor predicting development of castration-resistant prostate cancer (hazard ratio 2.28, P = 0.007), along with high-volume disease and Gleason score 9-10. Similarly, testosterone level of <450 ng/dl was independently associated with shorter overall survival (hazard ratio 2.84, P = 0.006), along with higher Charlson comorbidity index, visceral metastasis and higher alkaline phosphatase level.

CONCLUSIONS

Lower baseline serum testosterone levels predict poor prognosis in patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer.

European Society of Toxicologic Pathology (Pathology 2.0 Molecular Pathology Special Interest Group): Review of In Situ Hybridization Techniques for Drug Research and Development

In situ hybridization (ISH) is used for the localization of specific nucleic acid sequences in cells or tissues by complementary binding of a nucleotide probe to a specific target nucleic acid sequence. In the last years, the specificity and sensitivity of ISH assays were improved by innovative techniques like synthetic nucleic acids and tandem oligonucleotide probes combined with signal amplification methods like branched DNA, hybridization chain reaction and tyramide signal amplification. These improvements increased the application spectrum for ISH on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues. ISH is a powerful tool to investigate DNA, mRNA transcripts, regulatory noncoding RNA, and therapeutic oligonucleotides. ISH can be used to obtain spatial information of a cell type, subcellular localization, or expression levels of targets. Since immunohistochemistry and ISH share similar workflows, their combination can address simultaneous transcriptomics and proteomics questions. The goal of this review paper is to revisit the current state of the scientific approaches in ISH and its application in drug research and development.

Effect of Degarelix Administration on Bone Health in Prostate Cancer Patients Without Bone Metastases. The Blade Study

CONTEXT

As patients are now living with prostate cancer for longer, the long-term impact of hormonal treatment on bone health is an increasingly debated subject.

OBJECTIVE

To characterize the changes in bone mineral density (BMD) and bone turnover markers after degarelix administration in prostate cancer patients without bone metastases. To explore the predictive role of body composition on treatment induced bone loss.

METHODS

BMD and body composition (lean body mass, fat body mass, and appendicular mass index [ALMI]) were assessed by dual X-ray absorptiometry on study entry and after 12 months of degarelix therapy. Alkaline phosphate (ALP) and C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX) were assessed at baseline, and 6 and 12 months.

RESULTS

Twenty-nine patients entered the study. Degarelix administration was associated with a significant decrease in BMD after 12 months (2.4% reduction from baseline at lumbar spine). Serum CTX and ALP increased significantly (median increase from baseline 99% and 19.3%, respectively). An inverse correlation was observed between ALMI and CTX, but not ALP, at both baseline (Pearson r = -0.62, P < .0001) and month 12 (Pearson r = -0.41, P = .032). Moreover, a significant inverse correlation between changes in ALMI and CTX at 12 months (Pearson r = -0.43, P = .019) and a direct relationship between changes of ALMI and ALP (Pearson r = 0.44, P = .016) during degarelix therapy were observed.

CONCLUSION

Degarelix administration is associated with a significant decrease in BMD and increase in bone turnover markers. ALMI is a promising predictor of bone loss in prostate cancer patients receiving androgen deprivation therapy, and ALMI changes during therapy are associated with bone turnover derangement favoring bone quality alterations.

Construction of a Humanized PBMC-PDX Model to Study the Efficacy of a Bacterial Marker in Lung Cancer Immunotherapy

Commensal microbiome is a key factor of lung cancer immunotherapy efficacy. Elucidating the role of specific strains as bacterial markers in immunotherapy has drawn great attention from the academia. At present, most preclinical studies about the relationship between bacterial markers and immunotherapy rely on the syngeneic mouse models. However, mice differ greatly from humans in immune system and tumor characteristics. In this study, humanized mouse models based on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) immune reconstitution and lung cancer cell line-derived xenograft (CDX) or patient-derived xenograft (PDX) were constructed. The PBMC-PDX model was shown to be superior to the PBMC-CDX model in preserving tumor heterogeneity and construction time-saving. Through optimizing the experimental process, the time it took for humanized models to evaluate the effect of cancer treatment was reduced to 42 days. Next, by utilizing PBMC-PDX mice treated with antibiotics (ATB), the role of Bifidobacterium longum in lung cancer immunotherapy was studied. It was found that although both Bifidobacterium longum and immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab alone showed suppressing tumor growth, the efficacy of pembrolizumab was attenuated when administrated to mice colonized with Bifidobacterium longum. Further exploration revealed that Bifidobacterium longum caused significant changes in the proportion of human CD45⁺ cells in the PBMC-PDX model. The PBMC-PDX model has the potential to be applied as an efficient platform to support evaluation of bacterial markers in immunotherapy research and facilitate development of precision medicine targeting human commensal bacteria.

Effectiveness of GnRH Antagonists and Agonists in Patients with Hormone-Sensitive Prostate Cancer: A Retrospective Study

Objective

To assess the effectiveness of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonists and agonists in the treatment of patients with hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (HSPC), thus providing valid data support for their clinical treatment.

Methods

We collected 52 and 65 HSPC patients treated with GnRH antagonists and agonists, respectively, in Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College of HUST between May 2019 and April 2021. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels before and after treatment were recorded and analyzed. Further, univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to analyze the influencing factors of PSA control rate in HSPC patients.

Results

In patients receiving antagonist, the control rate of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) was 54.28% and 88% without and with abiraterone, respectively, and 47.91% and 72% in patients treated using agonist without and with abiraterone. In 32 pairs of patients obtained via propensity score matching, the PSA control rates were 84.38% and 53.13% for those receiving antagonists and agonists, respectively, and 66.67% and 50% for those without abiraterone, respectively. In addition, univariate logistic regression analysis showed that the type of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) drugs and combined use of abiraterone had a significant effect on the control rate of PSA. Further multivariate logistic regression revealed that GnRH antagonists in ADT drugs were risk factors for PSA control rate.

Conclusion

The PSA control rate of HSPC patients treated with GnRH antagonist is significantly higher than that of the agonist group, and the use of GnRH antagonist is an independent predictor of PSA control rate.

Optimizing the performance of 68Ga labeled FSHR ligand in Prostate Cancer Model by Co-Administration of Aprotinin

PURPOSE

Radiolabeled FSH1 peptides are potential specific probes for FSHR imaging. However, moderate uptakes and fast washout from the tumors may limit its widespread use. In this study, ⁶⁸Ga labeled modified FSH1 analogs was prepared and the imaging properties were determined in the prostate cancer model with or without aprotinin.

METHODS

NOTA-MAL-FSH4 was synthesized and labeled with ⁶⁸Ga. The pharmacokinetic profile of the peptide after co-administration with aprotinin was determined through metabolism analyses and microPET imaging.

RESULTS

⁶⁸Ga-NOTA-MAL-FSH4 was successfully prepared. The IC50 value of displacement ⁶⁸Ga-NOTA-MAL-FSH4 with FSH1 was 139.4 ± 1.16 nM. The PC-3 prostate tumor was visible after administration of the ⁶⁸Ga labeled tracer. In vitro RP-HPLC analysis revealed that the average percentage of intact peptide in the plasma, liver and tumor was 8.30, 9.57 and 7.06% respectively. In presence of aprotinin, the amounts of intact peptide increased to 34.32%, 20.63% and 15.39% in the counterparts respectively. MicroPET imaging showed that the uptakes of PC-3 tumors at 60mins after co-administration of 100μg, 200μg or 400μg enzyme inhibitors were 2.91 ± 0.21%ID/g, 3.89 ± 0.16%ID/g and 9.21 ± 0.22%ID/g respectively.

CONCLUSION

With the aid of a serine protease inhibitor, the performance of the ⁶⁸Ga labeled peptide was optimized, which may benefit further clinical application.

Follicle-Stimulating Hormone Induces Lipid Droplets via Gαi/o and β-Arrestin in an Endometrial Cancer Cell Line

Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and its G protein-coupled receptor, FSHR, represents a paradigm for receptor signaling systems that activate multiple and complex pathways. Classically, FSHR activates Gαs to increase intracellular levels of cAMP, but its ability to activate other G proteins, and β-arrestin-mediated signaling is well documented in many different cell systems. The pleiotropic signal capacity of FSHR offers a mechanism for how FSH drives multiple and dynamic downstream functions in both gonadal and non-gonadal cell types, including distinct diseases, and how signal bias may be achieved at a pharmacological and cell system-specific manner. In this study, we identify an additional mechanism of FSH-mediated signaling and downstream function in the endometrial adenocarcinoma Ishikawa cell line. While FSH did not induce increases in cAMP levels, this hormone potently activated pertussis toxin sensitive Gαi/o signaling. A selective allosteric FSHR ligand, B3, also activated Gαi/o signaling in these cells, supporting a role for receptor-mediated activation despite the low levels of FSHR mRNA. The low expression levels may attribute to the lack of Gαs/cAMP signaling as increasing FSHR expression resulted in FSH-mediated activation of the Gαs pathway. Unlike prior reports for FSH-mediated Gαs/cAMP signaling, FSH-mediated Gαi/o signaling was not affected by inhibition of dynamin-dependent receptor internalization. While chronic FSH did not alter cell viability, FSH was able to increase lipid droplet size. The β-arrestins are key adaptor proteins known to regulate FSHR signaling. Indeed, a rapid, FSH-dependent increase in interactions between β-arrestin1 and Gαi1 was observed via NanoBiT complementation in Ishikawa cells. Furthermore, both inhibition of Gαi/o signaling and siRNA knockdown of β-arrestin 1/2 significantly reduced FSH-induced lipid droplet accumulation, implying a role for a Gαi/o/β-arrestin complex in FSH functions in this cell type. As FSH/FSHR has been implicated in distinct hormone-dependent cancers, including endometrial cancer, analysis of the cancer genome database from 575 human endometrial adenocarcinoma tumors revealed that a subpopulation of samples expressed FSHR. Overall, this study highlights a novel mechanism for FSHR signal pleiotropy that may be exploited for future personalized therapeutic approaches.