Comparative Analysis of Vitamin A (Retinol) Regulated Genes in African- American and Caucasian Prostate Cancer Patients

摘要

Vitamin A (retinol) and its related metabolites like retinoic acid (RA) have great potential in their roles as prostate cancer chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agents by exerting regulation on cell growth and differentiation. Several studies have shown that there is a reduction in retinoid levels and retinoid receptors (e.g. RARBeta2) in prostate cancer. RA is being used to treat patients with prostate cancer and has been shown to inhibit tumor growth and reverse the events of carcinogenesis in animal models of prostate cancer. There is a disparity in prostate cancer among the African- American population and we hypothesize that more severe disruptions of retinoid signaling occur, contributing to this disparity. The purpose of this study is to examine the underlying causes for the clinical behavior of prostate cancer in African-Americans as compared to Caucasian patients. Immunohistochemical analysis has shown the expression of LRAT, an enzyme responsible for retinol esterification and storage as retinyl esters, to be reduced in tumor tissue specimens from prostate cancer patients as compared to adjacent nonmalignant tissue. Understanding the role of retinoid signaling in prostate carcinogenesis will lead to improved chemoprevention strategies and to the development of novel therapies for this disease.