Expression of prostate specific membrane antigen in androgen-independent prostate cancer cell line PC-3

During the progression of prostate cancer from androgen-dependence or sensitivity to androgen-independence, the overall expression of prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA) increases with its appearance in plasma membrane. However, surprisingly some androgen-independent metastatic prostate cancer cell lines do not express this protein. Estradiol (E2) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) due to their recognized and strong involvement in prostate growth, development, and pathology were selected with the aim of restoring the expression of PSMA in markedly dedifferentiated prostate cancer PC-3 cells and in Du 145. E2 (10−7–10−11 M) and bFGF (10 ng/ml) stimulated the expression of mRNAs for PSMA (2- to 4-fold increase) that apparently were further translated and processed to its membrane form in LNCaP, PC-3, and Du 145 cells. The values of interaction force between the same anti-PSMA antibodies and all studied cells were almost identical (45–64 pN), indicating antigenic similarity of the membrane form of PSMA expressed in LNCaP, PC-3, and Du 145 cells.