Gnrh Antagonists Have Direct Inhibitory Effects on Castration-Resistant Prostate
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Author Manuscript Published OnlineFirst on July 24, 2019; DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-18-1337 Author manuscripts have been peer reviewed and accepted for publication but have not yet been edited. GnRH antagonists have direct inhibitory effects on castration-resistant prostate cancer via intracrine androgen and AR-V7 expression. Vito Cucchiara1*, Joy C. Yang1*, Chengfei Liu1, Hans H. Adomat2, Emma S. Tomlinson Guns2, Martin E. Gleave2, Allen C. Gao1,3, Christopher P. Evans1,3 1Department of Urologic Surgery, University of California at Davis, Sacramento, California. 2Vancouver Prostate Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada 3UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California Davis, California. Running title: GnRH antagonist inhibits intracrine androgen and AR-V7 Keywords: Prostate Cancer, ADT, GnRH antagonist, intracrine androgen Financial Support: This work is supported in part by grants DOD PC150040P1 and Ferring Pharmaceuticals to CP Evans. Conflicts of Interest: Research support from Ferring to CPE and JCY. All other authors have no conflicts of interest. Corresponding Author: Christopher P. Evans, MD, FACS Professor and Chairman, Department of Urology Urologic Surgical Oncology University of California, Davis, School of Medicine 4860 Y St., Suite 3500 Sacramento, CA 95817 academic office tel # (916)734-7520 academic office fax # (916)734-8094 email: [email protected] *These authors contributed equally to this work Downloaded from mct.aacrjournals.org on October 6, 2021. © 2019 American Association for Cancer Research. Author Manuscript Published OnlineFirst on July 24, 2019; DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-18-1337 Author manuscripts have been peer reviewed and accepted for publication but have not yet been edited. ABSTRACT Hormone therapy is currently the mainstay in the management of locally advanced and metastatic prostate cancer (PCa). Degarelix (Firmagon), a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) receptor antagonist differs from luteinizing hormone–releasing hormone (LHRH) agonists by avoiding “testosterone flare” and lower follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels. The direct effect of degarelix and leuprolide on human prostate cancer cells was evaluated. In LNCaP, C4-2BMDVR and CWR22Rv1 cells, degarelix significantly reduced cell viability compared to the controls (p≤0.01). Leuprolide was stimulatory in the same cell lines. In C4-2B MDVR cells, degarelix alone or combined with abiraterone or enzalutamide reduced the AR-V7 protein expression compared to the control group. SCID mice bearing VCaP xenograft tumors were divided into four groups and treated with surgical castration, degarelix, leuprolide or buffer alone for 4 weeks. Leuprolide slightly suppressed tumor growth compared to the vehicle control group (p>0.05). Tumors in degarelix-treated mice were 67% of those in the leuprolide-treatment group but 170% larger than in surgically castrated ones. Measurements of intratumoral steroids in serum, tumor samples or treated cell pellets by LC-MS confirmed that degarelix better decreased the levels of testosterone and steroidogenesis pathway intermediates, comparable to surgical castration; while leuprolide had no inhibitory effect. Collectively, our results suggested a selective mechanism of action of degarelix against androgen steroidogenesis and AR-variants. The present study provides additional molecular insights regarding the mechanism of degarelix compared to GnRH agonist therapy, which may have clincial implications. INTRODUCTION Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common tumor and the second cause of cancer-death in men [1]. For advanced and metastatic PCa, androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) using luteinizing hormone– releasing hormone (LHRH) agonists or the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) receptor Downloaded from mct.aacrjournals.org on October 6, 2021. © 2019 American Association for Cancer Research. Author Manuscript Published OnlineFirst on July 24, 2019; DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-18-1337 Author manuscripts have been peer reviewed and accepted for publication but have not yet been edited. antagonist, alone or in combination with radiotherapy, is considered the best treatment option [2, 3]. A new generation of androgen receptor signaling inhibitors, such as abiraterone or enzalutamide, have been approved as treatment options in castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) [2, 3]. Different ADT strategies have been tested to achieve castration levels of testosterone (<50 ng/dl). To date, long- acting depot formulations of GnRH agonists (in combination with antiandrogens for four weeks to avoid the “testosterone surge”) are the most commonly used agents. GnRH agonists, after a desensitization of the GnRH receptor response, determine a reduction in luteinising hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and testosterone production [2, 3]. GnRH antagonists, like degarelix, are also an approved form of ADT [4]. GnRH antagonists, by blocking GnRH receptors, produce a more rapid suppression of testosterone without testosterone surge or micro-surge [4]. Presently, international prostate cancer guidelines recommend the use of either GnRH agonists or antagonists as treatment options for ADT in PCa patients [2, 3]. While some studies have suggested differences in efficacy and disease-related outcomes (musculoskeletal and urinary events) with degarelix compared to LHRH agonists [4], a systematic review of the literature did not support the superiority of antagonists over agonists [5]. All the available phase III studies included in the analysis have treatment bias, short-term follow-up and heterogeneous populations [5]. GnRH agonists and antagonists both induce castrate levels of testosterone by altering the intracellular signaling of pituitary cells, but several attempts have been made to elucidate the effect of these agents on other cells that express GNRH receptor (GnRH-R) [6, 7]. These studies revealed that extra-pituitary tissues are affected by compounds directed toward GnRH-R [8-11]. In prostate cells, GnRH-R manipulation may influence several biological processes such as cell growth, apoptosis, angiogenesis and cell adhesion [8-11]. We hypothesized that, unlike agonists, GnRH antagonists may have a direct mechanism of action on PCa cells growth, by affecting the AR signaling pathway. Specifically, we investigated the Downloaded from mct.aacrjournals.org on October 6, 2021. © 2019 American Association for Cancer Research. Author Manuscript Published OnlineFirst on July 24, 2019; DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-18-1337 Author manuscripts have been peer reviewed and accepted for publication but have not yet been edited. role of GnRH agonists and antagonists in castration sensitive and castration resistant PCa cell lines and xenograft models and their possible interaction with AR and AR splice variants (AR-Vs such as AR- V7). It is already know that aberrant AR signaling and AR-Vs are able to promote the development of CRPC and may drive drug resistance [8-11]. Preclinical and clinical trials have described a direct correlation between AR-V7 expression, one of the most intensively studied AR-variant, and resistance to enzalutamide and abiraterone. Moreover, AR-V7 detection has been independently associated with poor prognosis in CRPC [12, 13]. AR-V7 has been proposed as a prognostic marker of prostate specific antigen (PSA) response, progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS) among CRPC patients treated with AR-targeted agents (abiraterone and enzalutamide) or chemotherapy [14, 15], but there are no studies that have investigated the relationship between the type of ADT (GnRH agonist or antagonist) and the expression of AR-V7. In this study, we showed that different PCa cell lines are sensitive to the antiproliferative effect of the GnRH antagonist degarelix. Furthermore, the use of degarelix, alone or in combination with enzalutamide or abiraterone, affected the expression of AR-V7. In particular, we observed a reduction of AR-V7 at both the protein and transcription levels. These insights suggest extra-pituitary activity of GnRH-R in PCa tumors and may have implications regarding resistance to second generation AR pathway inhibitors. Downloaded from mct.aacrjournals.org on October 6, 2021. © 2019 American Association for Cancer Research. Author Manuscript Published OnlineFirst on July 24, 2019; DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-18-1337 Author manuscripts have been peer reviewed and accepted for publication but have not yet been edited. Materials and Methods Reagents and Cell Culture LNCaP, VCaP, and CWR22Rv1 cells were obtained from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC, Manassas, VA). All experiments with cell lines were performed within 6 months of receipt from ATCC or resuscitation after cryopreservation. The cells were maintained in RPMI 1640 supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS), 100 units/ml penicillin and 0.1 mg/ml streptomycin. VCaP cells were maintained in DMEM supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS), 100 units/ml penicillin and 0.1 mg/ml streptomycin. C4-2B MDVR (C4-2B enzalutamide resistant) [16] cells were maintained in 20 μM enzalutamide containing medium. All cells were maintained at 37°C in a humidified incubator with 5% carbon dioxide. Western blot analysis Total protein was extracted from cultured cells and/or xenograft tumors and the concentrations were estimated using the BCA Protein Assay Reagent (Pierce, Rockford, IL). Equal amounts of denatured protein samples were loaded on a 10% SDS-polyacrylamide gel.