Detection of mRNA expression of gonadotropin-releasing hormone and its receptor in normal and neoplastic rat prostates

  • Authors:
    • H. L. Lau
    • Xiao-Ming Zhu
    • Peter C.K. Leung
    • L. W. Chan
    • G. F. Chen
    • Peter S.F. Chan
    • K. L. Yu
    • Franky L. Chan
  • View Affiliations

  • Published online on: December 1, 2001     https://doi.org/10.3892/ijo.19.6.1193
  • Pages: 1193-1201
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Abstract

Hypothalamic gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) plays a central role in the regulation of the mammalian reproductive systems as a releasing hormone of pituitary gonadotropins. However, a number of studies have shown that GnRH or its receptor are also expressed in some reproductive organs including prostate gland, mammary gland, ovary and placenta, tumors and tumor cell lines derived from these organs, suggesting that this peptide hormone may have other extrapituitary functions in addition to its role as a gonadotropin-releasing hormone. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that GnRH analogs exert some direct inhibitory effects on the proliferation of human and rat prostate cancer cells, probably mediated by its own specific receptors expressed in these tumor cells. In the present study, we investigated the mRNA expression of GnRH and its receptor in normal Noble rat prostate gland, and in three rat models of prostate cancer including the sex hormone-induced Noble rat model, an androgen-independent Noble rat prostatic tumor (AIT) and Dunning rat prostatic adenocarcinomas by RT-PCR and Southern blot analyses. The results showed that GnRH mRNA was expressed in the normal, hormone-treated and neoplastic rat prostates, in addition to its positive control expression in the hypothalamus, whereas its receptor was only detected in the androgen-dependent Dunning R3327H tumor. The detection of both GnRH and its receptor in the androgen-dependent Dunning R3327H tumor tissue suggests that this peptide hormone may have some autocrine and paracrine regulatory functions in this tumor. However, the gene expression of GnRH receptor was not detected in two androgen-independent Dunning tumor sublines and the Noble rat prostatic tumor, AIT, suggesting that the expression of GnRH receptor is lost or down-regulated in the prostatic tumors during the progression to a hormone-independent phenotype.

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December 2001
Volume 19 Issue 6

Print ISSN: 1019-6439
Online ISSN:1791-2423

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Spandidos Publications style
Lau HL, Zhu X, Leung PC, Chan LW, Chen GF, Chan PS, Yu KL and Chan FL: Detection of mRNA expression of gonadotropin-releasing hormone and its receptor in normal and neoplastic rat prostates. Int J Oncol 19: 1193-1201, 2001
APA
Lau, H.L., Zhu, X., Leung, P.C., Chan, L.W., Chen, G.F., Chan, P.S. ... Chan, F.L. (2001). Detection of mRNA expression of gonadotropin-releasing hormone and its receptor in normal and neoplastic rat prostates. International Journal of Oncology, 19, 1193-1201. https://doi.org/10.3892/ijo.19.6.1193
MLA
Lau, H. L., Zhu, X., Leung, P. C., Chan, L. W., Chen, G. F., Chan, P. S., Yu, K. L., Chan, F. L."Detection of mRNA expression of gonadotropin-releasing hormone and its receptor in normal and neoplastic rat prostates". International Journal of Oncology 19.6 (2001): 1193-1201.
Chicago
Lau, H. L., Zhu, X., Leung, P. C., Chan, L. W., Chen, G. F., Chan, P. S., Yu, K. L., Chan, F. L."Detection of mRNA expression of gonadotropin-releasing hormone and its receptor in normal and neoplastic rat prostates". International Journal of Oncology 19, no. 6 (2001): 1193-1201. https://doi.org/10.3892/ijo.19.6.1193