Open Access

REVIEW

Dissecting the effects of androgen deprivation therapy on cadherin switching in advanced prostate cancer: A molecular perspective

LOKMAN VARISLI^1,2, VEYSEL TOLAN¹, JIYAN H. CEN³, SPIROS VLAHOPOULOS⁴, OSMAN CEN^5,6,*

1 Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Science Faculty, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, 21280, Turkey
2 Cancer Research Center, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, 21280, Turkey
3 Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
4 First Department of Pediatrics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, 11527, Greece
5 Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
6 Department of Natural Sciences and Engineering, John Wood College, Quincy, IL, 62305, USA

* Corresponding Author: OSMAN CEN. Email:

Oncology Research 2022, 30(3), 137-155. https://doi.org/10.32604/or.2022.026074

Received 15 August 2022; Accepted 23 December 2022; Issue published 12 January 2023

Abstract

Prostate cancer is one of the most often diagnosed malignancies in males and its prevalence is rising in both developed and developing countries. Androgen deprivation therapy has been used as a standard treatment approach for advanced prostate cancer for more than 80 years. The primary aim of androgen deprivation therapy is to decrease circulatory androgen and block androgen signaling. Although a partly remediation is accomplished at the beginning of treatment, some cell populations become refractory to androgen deprivation therapy and continue to metastasize. Recent evidences suggest that androgen deprivation therapy may cause cadherin switching, from E-cadherin to N-cadherin, which is the hallmark of epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Diverse direct and indirect mechanisms are involved in this switching and consequently, the cadherin pool changes from E-cadherin to N-cadherin in the epithelial cells. Since E-cadherin represses invasive and migrative behaviors of the tumor cells, the loss of E-cadherin disrupts epithelial tissue structure leading to the release of tumor cells into surrounding tissues and circulation. In this study, we review the androgen deprivation therapy-dependent cadherin switching in advanced prostate cancer with emphasis on its molecular basis especially the transcriptional factors regulated through TFG-β pathway.

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Keywords

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