Specific targeting of prostate cancer cells in vitro by the suicide gene/prodrug system, uracil phosphoribosyltransferase/5-fluorouracil, under the control of prostate-specific membrane antigen promoter/enhancer

Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis. 2009;12(2):166-71. doi: 10.1038/pcan.2008.39. Epub 2008 Jul 15.

Abstract

This study was designed to investigate the prostate cancer-specific tumoricidal effect of the suicide gene, Escherichia coli uracil phosphoribosyltransferase (UPRT), driven by the human prostate-specific membrane antigen promoter/enhancer (PSMA(E/P)) in vitro. When transfected with PSMA(E/P)-EGFP (enhanced green fluorescence protein) (a plasmid construct with the green fluorescence protein gene driven by the PSMA(E/P)), only the androgen-responsive and PSMA-positive prostate cancer cell line, LNCaP, expressed GFP, indicating the specificity of the PSMA(E/P) activity in androgen-sensitive and PSMA-positive prostate cancer cells. Taking advantage of this prostate cancer-specific property of PSMA(E/P), we successfully introduced bacterial UPRT into LNCaP cells where the tumoricidal effect of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) was significantly increased when compared with the cells without the exogenous UPRT. We conclude that the efficacy of 5-FU-based chemotherapy in prostate cancers can be significantly improved by targeted expression of the suicide gene UPRT under the control of PSMA(E/P).

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antigens, Surface / genetics*
  • Antineoplastic Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Enhancer Elements, Genetic
  • Escherichia coli / genetics
  • Flow Cytometry
  • Fluorouracil / therapeutic use*
  • Genes, Transgenic, Suicide
  • Genetic Therapy / methods*
  • Genetic Vectors
  • Glutamate Carboxypeptidase II / genetics*
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins
  • Humans
  • In Vitro Techniques
  • Male
  • Pentosyltransferases / genetics*
  • Promoter Regions, Genetic
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / genetics
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / therapy*
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • Transfection

Substances

  • Antigens, Surface
  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins
  • Pentosyltransferases
  • uracil phosphoribosyltransferase
  • FOLH1 protein, human
  • Glutamate Carboxypeptidase II
  • Fluorouracil