Expression patterns of vitamin D receptor in human prostate

Abstract

UV exposure and serum levels of vitamin D have been linked in several studies with prostate cancer risk. At the cellular level, the principal action of vitamin D is mediated though vitamin D receptors (VDR). Since prostate cancer is a disease strongly associated with age, we examined the presence of VDR in normal prostate from donors of various ages to determine if the VDR expression pattern changed with age. We also compared the VDR expression in the peripheral and central zones of the prostate to determine if the expression pattern varied by location. Immunohistochemical studies were performed on paraffin-embedded tissue from cases selected by the following age decades; 10-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, and 60-69. Both the central and peripheral zones were examined for VDR expression. The intensity of VDR expression in prostate was compared with expression in different types of human tissues. Mean VDR expression was lowest in the 10-19 years of age group. The intensity of the nuclear VDR was higher though the fifth decade, and then declined in cases of ages 60-70. When multiple sections of the same donor prostate were compared, VDR expression was greater in the peripheral zone compared to the central zone.

The role of vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms in the susceptibility to prostate cancer of a southern European population

“…The geographical distribution of prostate cancer mortality in the United States has been interpreted as supporting the hypothesis that low levels of vitamin D are related to sunlight exposure and may increase cancer risk (Hanchete and Schwartz 1992). This idea is further supported by analysis of vitamin D metabolites in sera stored before diagnosis for prostate cancer cases and controls (Corder et al 1993; Ahonen et al 2000) and by the analysis of the expression patterns of vitamin D in human prostate (Krill et al 2001). It has also been shown that the antiproliferative effects of 1,25(OH)2 D 3 require the expression of the nuclear VDR (Hedlund et al 1996a).…”

Vitamin D receptor‐dependent antitumour effects of 1,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D3 and two synthetic analogues in three in vivo models of prostate cancer

“…VDR is widely expressed in normal human prostate tissue [7]. Western blot analysis showed the human prostate cell line LNCaP and the rat prostate cell line MLL expressed VDR, but no VDR was detected in PAIII cells (Fig.…”

Vitamin D in cancer chemoprevention

“…The findings showing that VDRs are expressed in normal prostate tissue, in benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), and in prostate cancer cells suggest that BPH and prostate cancer (PCa) may represent potential targets for VDR ligands (Adorini et al, 2007;Crescioli et al, 2002;Hendrickson et al, 2011;Krill et al, 2001;Munetsuna et al, 2011;Swami et al, 2011). Several experimental observations have highlighted the fact that VDR ligands may exert numerous effects on prostate cancer cells including cellcycle arrest in the G0/G1 phase, apoptosis, and interaction with androgen-mediated signaling (Guzey et al, 2002;Nagpal et al, 2005;Zhuang & Burnstein, 1998).…”