A research team from the Health Sciences Research Centre, University of Beira Interior (CICS-UBI) recently published in the Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology a study aiming to unveil the role of androgens in regulating the glycolytic metabolism, and the production and export of lactate in human prostate cancer cells.
A researcher group of the Unit for Multidisciplinary Research in Biomedicine (UMIB) led by Professor Mariana P. Monteiro developed a research project, co-financed by the Portuguese Society of Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism (SPEDM), whose objective was to evaluate the influence of obesity in androgen independent prostate carcinoma progression. For this purpose, in vitro studies were performed in order to evaluate the effect of factors released by adipocytes and preadipocytes in proliferation, migration and invasion of androgen independent prostate carcinoma cells.
In advanced stages of prostate cancer, the majority of tumours progress to a hormone-refractory stage characterized by the failure of classical androgen ablation therapies . Imatinib mesylate, a chemotherapeutic drug that inhibits the tyrosine kinase activity of c-KIT receptor, has been successfully used to treat leukemias and some solid tumors, but its application in hormone-refractory prostate cancer phase (HRPC) had only modest effects.
Monocarboxylate transporter 2 (MCT2) is overexpressed in prostate malignant glands, pointing it out as a putative biomarker for prostate cancer. In this study, it was demonstrated that MCT2 localizes mainly at peroxisomes in prostate cancer cells and is able to take advantage of the peroxisomal transport machinery. It was also shown an increase in MCT2 expression from non-malignant to malignant cells that was directly correlated with its peroxisomal localization.
Mafalda Almeida, Vera L Costa, Natália R Costa, João Ramalho Carvalho, Tiago Baptista, Franclim R Ribeiro, Paula Paulo, Manuel R Teixeira, Jorge Oliveira, Rui Henrique e Carmen Jerónimo (CI-IPOP, Porto e ICBAS-UP); Ragnhild A Lothe e Guro E Lind (Oslo University Hospital and University of Oslo, Noruega)
