Differential expression of integrin subunits in DU-145/AR prostate cancer cells

We have established a clonal DU-145 prostate cancer cell line (DU-145/AR) stably transfected with androgen receptor cDNA. We investigated the expression of integrin subunits, adhesion to extracellular matrices, the invasion of DU-145/AR prostate cancer cells. The expression of various integrin subunits and adhesion to various extracellular matrices in DU-145, DU-145/Neo and DU-145/AR cells were examined. The haptoinvasion and the haptotactic migration of these cells were investigated using a Transwell cell culture chamber assay. DU-145/AR cells exhibited lower expression of α6 and β4 integrin subunits and higher expression of α2 and α5 than DU-145 cells. DU-145/AR cells showed significantly lower adhesion to fibronectin, laminin-1 and laminin-5 than DU-145/ Neo cells, whereas DU-145/AR cells showed higher adhesion to type I and type IV collagen. Haptoinvasion of DU-145/AR cells into Matrigel/fibronectin-coated filter was significantly reduced as compared with DU-145/Neo or DU-145 cells, but there was no significant difference between DU-145/AR and control cells in the haptotactic migration to fibronectin. Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) inhibited the invasive ability of DU-145/AR cells. These results indicate that androgen receptor may play a role in the regulation of adhesion to the extracellular matrices and invasion of prostate cancer cells through influencing the expression of specific integrin subunits.